Weaknesses
by Im-On-A-Roll
Summary: Sequel to "Working Vacation". Vince is back and he's out for revenge on Lino and Victor. To make sure his plan works, he must once again use their weakness...Lenny. THE FINAL CHAPTER IS UP!
1. Chapter 1: Vince Returns

**Weaknesses**

_Chapter 1_

It was a calm, beautiful evening. Victor had just finished his shift at Marlin's Whale Wash and was going home for the night. He lived in a sunken tugboat a mile away from the rest of the city, so every night he had to swim for at least an hour to get home. It never bothered him though, he felt it was good exercise.

Even though the swim home was always a lonely one, Victor always had an optimistic smile on his face. For the first time in three long years, everything was going his way. He had not seen his abusive, slow-witted dad for a month thanks to Don Lino and Lenny. He had a great job with the coolest boss, great friends, and beautiful girls throwing themselves at his tailfin.

There was no doubt about it, Victor was living the good life. _"Could my life be any more sweet?"_ he asked himself.

A few minutes later, Victor arrived at his tugboat house. He opened the front door, went inside and made his way to the kitchen still thinking everything was fine. But before he even reached the kitchen door, a gruff and horribly familiar voice coming from the front door spoke.

"Where have you been? Your curfew was twenty minutes ago."

Victor turned around and saw his biological father, Vince, with his fins crossed and his back against the hallway wall. Victor narrowed his eyes and bravely spoke to Vince.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

Vince smiled evilly, "I just wanted to see how my little traitor of a son is doin'."

"Really?" said Victor, "I'm still your son? I thought you would've forgotten you ever even had a son by now."

"Why would I ever wanna forget about you?" Vince asked, "You betrayed me and took sides with Lino and his little boy. Speakin' of which, I thought you might be interested in knowing that I know I didn't kill Lenny."

Victor's eyes widened. "How'd you find out?"

"From you, just now," Vince replied.

"Oh no," Victor covered his mouth with his fin.

"Oh yes. So, Lenny _is_ alive, eh?"

Victor looked down at the floor, feeling guilty about what he had just done.

"This is perfect," said Vince.

Victor looked back up at him, "What are you gonna do, use him as bait so you can try and get back at Lino again?"

Vince shook his head, "I'm not tellin' you, Victor. You'll find out soon enough. And just so ya know, I ain't gonna _try_. This time I _know_ I'm gonna get back at Lino."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Victor, "I'm gonna call the cops right now and tell 'em everything."

Vince slowly approached Victor and stopped just inches away from him. Like the click of a switch, Victor's courage turned to fear.

"Are ya?" Vince asked.

X--X

Several miles away at the sunken ship we all know as Don Lino's home, Lenny was just about to go to bed. But first, he had to say goodnight to his dad. He opened Lino's office door and went inside expecting to see the older shark sitting at his desk doing paper work. But what he saw instead was a sight too unbearable to look at.

Don Lino, at least Lenny thought that's who it was, was lying down on a long chair in the middle of the room with his eyes closed. On his face was some sort of grayish-green colored mud mask. Lenny slowly approached Lino to see if he was awake.

"Hey, Lenny," Lino said without opening his eyes.

"Hey, Pop," Lenny replied trying to sound casual, "Um…Pop, don't look now, but I think dinner exploded on your face."

Lino chuckled and opened an eye, "It's a facial. Your mom ordered it on the internet and she wants me to test it for her."

"Why?"

"So she can see if it works as good as the commercials say it does."

Lenny leaned over to get a better look at the mask. And then, without warning, a horrible smell filled his nostrils. He covered his nose and tried not to breathe.

"Well," said Lenny, "I just hope it works better than it smells. What's in that stuff?"

"Plankton extract and sea salt," said Lino.

"Charming."

"Your mom says it rejuvenates the skin and it won't clog your pores."

"How long has it been on your face?"

"Ten minutes. I just gotta leave it on for another five."

Lenny shook his head, "But doesn't the smell bother you?"

Lino nodded, "Yeah it does, but not as much as some other things."

Then the phone rang.

"Take phones for example," said Lino.

Lenny chuckled, "I'll get that."

"Thanks, kid."

Lino closed his eyes once more and listened as Lenny answered the phone.

"Talk to me," Lenny said.

"_Ha, that's my boy,"_ Lino thought to himself_. "Answerin' the phone the same way his old man does."_

"Victor?" Lenny said sounding serious.

Lino opened his eyes and looked over at the younger shark.

"Okay, don't worry," Lenny said into the phone, "I'll get him for you."

"Is that really Victor?" Lino asked.

"Yeah," Lenny replied, "He needs to talk to you. He says it's an emergency."

"What's wrong?"

"He didn't say, but I'm guessing it's bad."

Lino got up from his long chair and took the phone from Lenny, "Victor? What is it, what's wrong? "

"Lino, thank God it's you," said Victor's voice from the other line, "It's my dad."

"Vince?" Lino asked, "What about him?"

"He broke into my house and punched me in the face," said Victor.

"What? How hard did he hit you?"

"Hard enough to knock me out for thirty minutes," Victor answered.

"Is he still there?"

"No. I just woke up and he was gone. I don't know where he went, but I'm afraid he'll come back and do something worse."

"Don't worry, Victor," Lino said, "I won't let that happen. You can come stay with me, Lenny, and the missus until you get better."

There was a moment's silence.

"You still there, Victor?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. I'm just so grateful you'd do that for me."

"It's no trouble," Lino assured him, "But for now, just stay where you are. I'll send my boys out to get you."

"Thanks, Lino." Victor's voice was shaky. It was apparent that he was about to cry.

"We'll look forward to having you here," said Lino.

"I'll look forward to being there," Victor replied.

"Bye, Victor."

"Bye."

Lino hung up.

"Is he okay, Pop?" Lenny asked.

"No," Lino said sadly, "He's hurt pretty bad. Victor really needs some family time. Looks like he's gonna be staying here with us for a little while."

Lenny smiled, "Really?"

"Is that okay with you, son?"

"Are you kidding? That's awesome," said Lenny, "It'll be just like…having a big brother again."

Lino placed his fin on his son's shoulder, "That's one of the reasons why I'm doing this."

Lenny smiled.

"I better go tell Luca and the rest of the guys to go get him," Lino said heading for his office door.

"Pop?"

Lino stopped before he was out the door, "Yeah?"

"Before you do that, you might wanna take the mask off your face."

Lino had almost forgotten that stuff was on his face, "Yeah, good idea."

_End of Chapter_


	2. Chapter 2: House Guest

_Chapter 2_

Lino quickly sent Luca the octopus, Giuseppe the hammerhead shark, and seven other sharks out to fetch Victor.

"Make sure he gets here in one piece," he warned them before they left, "It's a long swim and Vince could be hiding anywhere."

"Don't worry, Boss," said Luca, "We won't let that idiot anywhere near Victor."

"Thanks, Luca. Now go get 'im."

As soon as Lino's boys left his office, his wife, Kathleen, came inside.

"There you are, Kathleen," Lino said when he saw his wife.

Kathleen approached her husband's desk with an expression of worry on her face, "Lenny told me everything, Lino. How's Victor?"

Lino shut his eyes, "He sounded traumatized on the phone. Vince must've hit him pretty hard."

"Will he be okay?" Kathleen asked.

"Hopefully his time here will help him feel better," said Lino.

"When's he going to get here?"

"If the boys don't run into any trouble, trouble named Vince, he should be here tomorrow morning. While he's here, we're gonna have to do everything we can to make sure he's taken care of."

"Is there anything you want me to do before Victor gets here?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," said Lino, "I need you to prepare the guest bedroom for him."

Kathleen smiled, "I'll make it look good as new."

"Thanks, Katie."

"One more thing, Lino," Kathleen said before leaving, "Your face looks fabulous. Looks like my new mud mask really _does_ work."

Lino rolled his eyes, "Glad to hear it, Kathleen."

X--X

The next morning, Lenny had to call Oscar at the Whale Wash and inform him that he was going to be a few minutes late. Victor was going to arrive any minute and Lenny wanted to be there to greet him before he went to work.

Lenny dialed the Whale Wash's number and waited for someone to answer.

"Whale Wash," said a high-pitched voice, "Whale of a wash, and the price, oh my gosh."

It was seriously time for the Wash to get a new catch phrase, "Hey, Angie," said Lenny, "Is Oscar there?"

"Hi Lenny," Angie replied, "I'm sorry, but surprisingly Oscar's late again."

"Your sarcasm is noted," Lenny said smiling.

"Very funny. But I'm not being sarcastic when I say that you, surprisingly, are late too. Where are you?"

"Sorry, Angie, I'm still at home. Victor's coming to stay with us for a few…"

"AHH!" Angie screamed so loudly, Lenny almost dropped his cell phone, "Did you just say _Victor_ is going to be staying at your home? The same Victor I met at the North Side Reef?"

Lenny sighed, "Yeah, that's the one. Nothin' gets by you, Angie."

"How long is he going to stay?" Angie asked practically shouting.

"A few weeks, I guess. Vince snuck into his home last night and hit him kinda hard and…"

"WHAT?" Angie didn't sound happy anymore, "VICTOR'S HURT? Oh, I should make him a get-well card. Nah, too old school. I'll take it to the next level; I'll write him a poem, a really romantic poem. And I'll buy him balloons, flowers, chocolates, the works."

"Uh, Angie?" Lenny asked, "I don't think he needs all that stuff. He's not in the hospital or anything, he's just got a minor injury."

"I'm not taking any chances, Lenny. My Vicki needs me."

"Your Vicki? Angie, could you just tell Oscar I'm gonna be a few minutes late?"

Angie sighed, "Okay, I will. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got shopping to do. I'll see you later, and give Vicki my love."

Lenny hung up his phone and chuckled to himself. Then he looked out his window and in the distance, he saw ten figures coming toward the ship. As they got closer, he noticed one of them was an octopus and the other nine were sharks, one of them was Victor.

At first, Lenny was glad Victor was okay, but then the ten figures got close enough so that he could clearly see Victor's face. Victor's left eye was bruised, and apparently badly because he kept it shut. Lenny couldn't imagine how anyone could be as cruel as Vince. He of all people knew what it was like to have a troubled parent, but at least Lino never hit him.

Lenny left his room and went to Lino's office to join his parents.

"They're here," Lenny said to them.

"Perfect," Lino said happily, "How's Victor look?"

"He's got a black eye," Lenny replied.

"Oh, that poor child," Kathleen said sadly, "I'd better go get my first-aid kit."

"Kathleen," said Lino, "I don't think that's necessary. Victor's been through a lot the past few hours, he's gonna be tired. I don't think he's gonna want you gettin' all up in his face."

Kathleen was silent for a few seconds, "Maybe you're right."

Just then, Luca came in with Victor right behind him, "Hey Boss, Victor's here."

"Thanks, Luca," said Lino.

Luca bowed his head and then left the four sharks alone.

"Oh, Victor," Kathleen said with a smile, "It's so good to see you after all these years."

Victor smiled back, "It's great to see you too, Kathleen."

Kathleen hugged Victor tightly, "The last time I saw you, you were no bigger than my head. And now, look what you've become. You're almost as handsome as Lino."

Lino cleared his throat. Kathleen nervously looked at her husband, "I said _almost_, Honey."

"Yeah, yeah. Move over, Katie. It's my turn," Lino joked as he held out a fin to Victor, "Hey there, Victor."

Victor shook Lino's fin, "Hey, Don Lino." Lino raised an eyebrow. "Sorry," Victor said, "Hey, Lino."

Lino laughed, "That's more like it. Come here, let's take a look at that eye."

Lino carefully adjusted Victor's head to get a better look at his left eye. It had looked bad enough when Lenny had seen it from his bedroom window, but up close it looked much more black, swollen, and painful.

"Ooh," said Lino, "Looks like Vince gave ya a real shiner. How does it feel?"

"Not as bad as it looks," Victor replied.

"Really?" Lino asked.

"Yup." Victor turned his attention to Lenny, "Hey, Lenny."

"How's it goin' Victor?"

The two sharks gave each other a high five.

"Finally," said Victor, "I get to see what it's like to have a little brother."

"And I get to remember what it's like to have a big brother," said Lenny.

"How sweet," said Kathleen, "You two are getting along already. And Victor, I just want you to know if there's anything you need while you're staying with us, don't be shy. Okay?"

"Yeah, Ma'am," said Victor, "And just so you know, I don't intend to be a freeloader while I'm here. I'm gonna pull my own weight just like everyone else."

"Glad to hear it, Victor," Lino said with a warm smile, "But right now, maybe you should sleep."

Victor yawned widely, "Good idea."

"Come with me," said Kathleen, "I'll show you your room."

Victor followed Kathleen out the office door, leaving Lino and Lenny alone. Lenny checked the clock on Lino's desk.

"Well, I'd better get to work," he said, "I'll see ya later, Pop."

"Have a good day, Son."

_End of Chapter_


	3. Chapter 3: Angie's Gift

_Chapter 3_

When Lenny arrived at the Whale Wash, he was forty-five minutes late. But no one seemed to mind, so he punched in his name, and started his shift. An hour later, he was helping the other employees scrub a whale's back when Oscar swam up to him.

"Hey, Lenny," Oscar said to him.

"Hey, Oscar."

"Len, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure,"

Lenny put down his broom and followed Oscar to Angie's office. Oscar joined Angie inside the office, but since Lenny was too big he had to talk to them through the window.

"So what's up, Oscar?" Lenny asked.

Before Oscar could even open his mouth to answer, Angie bent down, lifted a huge box from the floor, and set it down on the window sill. Inside the box was a fuzzy, pink stuffed seahorse, a large box of chocolates, a photo of Angie inside a heart shaped picture frame, and a rolled up piece of paper.

Oscar frowned, "This is what's up."

"Angie, what _is_ all this stuff?"

"Oh, just a little get well present for Victor," Angie replied with a huge smile.

Lenny sighed, "Angie, I already told you, Victor doesn't need stuff like this. He's just got a black eye."

Angie gasped, "A black eye? Oh, my poor Vicki."

"VICKI?" Oscar bellowed, "Where need I ask did that come from?"

Angie ignored him, "It's a good thing I bought all this when I thought of it."

"You really think all this is gonna make Victor feel better?" Lenny asked.

"Absolutely," said Angie, "Everyone knows chocolates are the perfect thing to help get your spirits up. And Victor can put this picture of me at his bedside so that when he wakes up in the morning, he'll know that I'm thinking of him.

"Nice, and how do you explain this?" Lenny asked pointing to the stuffed seahorse.

"That's Mr. Fuzzycuddles," said Angie, "If Victor ever feels sad or lonely, Mr. Fuzzycuddles will keep him company."

Lenny picked up the rolled up paper, "And what's this?"

"It's a poem that I wrote for him. I have a true gift when it comes to poetry."

"Really?" Oscar asked pretending to be impressed.

"Yes, really," Angie replied matter-of-factly, "And I'll prove it to you. Lenny, read it out loud."

"Uh, okay." Lenny unrolled the paper.

"Prepare to be blown away, Oscar," Angie said with her fins crossed.

Lenny began reading, "Dear Victor, don't even think about hitting on me. I never wanna see you again, ever. I'm happily dating the most gorgeous fish in the entire ocean and no wanna-be pretty boy shark is ever gonna come between me and him, especially one with a mug like yours. So stay out of my life or there'll be serious consequences for you, love Angie. P.S, the Pizza Joint called, they want their giant anchovy back."

"WHAT?" Angie grabbed the "poem" from Lenny and read it quickly.

"Wow, Angie," Lenny said while Angie read the poem, "That was really…special. I'm sure Victor will be reading that over and over again."

"This isn't my poem," Angie squealed, "I didn't even write this."

"Then who did?" Lenny asked.

It didn't take long for the two of them to figure out who had written it. They only knew one fish who was so jealous of Victor that he'd write stuff like that about him. That exact same fish was standing there with them and was covering his mouth with his fin to make it look like he was coughing instead of laughing.

Angie crumpled the "poem" into a paper ball and threw it at Oscar's head, "That's not funny, Oscar!"

"I'm sorry, Ang," Oscar said still laughing, "I couldn't resist."

"Okay, you've had your fun," said Angie, "Now what did you do with my poem?"

"Angie," Lenny interrupted, "Don't worry about it. Victor already knows you like him more than you like Oscar, we all do."

"Either way, that poem was perfect."

"Tell you what, why don't you just come over to my place and hang out with us some time?" Lenny suggested.

"Could I?" Angie asked perking up.

"Sure you can. Victor didn't come all this way to get charity, he came to spend time with my family while his eye heals."

"I'd love to," Angie said, "I'll come over as soon as I get a day off from work."

"Sounds great."

Oscar looked disappointed, "Angie, don't do this to me."

"What am I doing?" Angie asked.

"You're talking about blowing me off to hang out with Lenny and pretty boy Victor on your day off."

"Blowing you off? Oh contraire," said Angie, "You're going to hang out with us."

"What?" Oscar snapped.

"You heard me."

Oscar stuttered, "But…but…but…"

"Do you want me to fetch a dictionary so you can find other words to say?" Angie asked.

"No," said Oscar, "Now why do I have to help you out with your five point plan to win Victor's heart?"

Angie rolled her eyes, "It's not a five point plan, Oscar. I just want you to get to know Victor better, that's all."

"Angie, I don't wanna get to know him. Judging by how he looks, he's probably a conceited jerk who's all full of himself."

"If that's the case, then you two should get along just fine."

Lenny laughed, "Good one, Angie."

"Thank you." Angie turned back to Oscar, "Listen you, you're going to hang out with me, Lenny, and Victor on your day off whether you like it or not."

"And if I refuse?"

Angie didn't even need time to think about the consequences, "Then I'll tell Mr. Sykes you were the one who broke that picture of his mom in his office."

Oscar shut his eyes crossly. "Alright, I give up," he surrendered, "I'll hang out with you guys, ya happy?"

Angie teasingly patted Oscar on the back, "Good boy. Now let's all get back to work."

"Alright," Lenny and Oscar agreed, though only Lenny was in the mood for work.

_End of Chapter_


	4. Chapter 4: Victor Remember's

_Chapter 4_

That night, Lenny got home from work at seven as he always did. He went into the living room to find his mom sitting on the sofa reading a book.

"Hey, mom," he greeted her.

Kathleen looked up from her book. "Hi Lenny, how was work today?"

"It was good."

"Did anything new happen?"

"Actually yes, something new did happen." Lenny told her all about the unusually large get-well present Angie had made for Victor. When he was done, they were both laughing so hard Kathleen almost dropped her book.

"She was going to give him a picture of herself?" she asked trying to hold back her laughs.

"It was insane, you had to be there," said Lenny. "I gotta tell Victor about it. Where is he?"

"Oh I'm sorry to disappoint you Sweetie, but Victor's asleep."

Lenny felt puzzled. "He's in bed already? It's only seven."

"He's been in bed all day. I gave him some sleeping pills after he got here this morning."

"What for?" Lenny asked.

"He was tired and he was still in shock about what happened to him last night. I wanted to make sure he'd sleep well."

"When's he gonna wake up?"

"Not until tomorrow morning. The pills I gave him are really powerful."

"Well what time do you think he'll wake up?" Lenny asked hoping he could make time to socialize with Victor before work.

Kathleen thought for a moment. "It's hard to say, but most likely eight o'clock."

Lenny smiled. "That's two hours before my shift starts. He and I could catch up for about an hour before I leave for work."

"That sounds good. Just don't make him too excited, Lenny," Kathleen said. "He might be a little drowsy from the sleeping pills."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be careful with him."

"Good."

Kathleen returned to her book and Lenny left the room to find Lino so he could tell him about Angie's gift.

X-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

Victor woke up the next morning not feeling much better than yesterday. The sleeping pills Kathleen gave him had left his entire body feeling sore and stiff. His left eye was still in pain but his aching body was a rather pleasant distraction from it. Victor yawned widely and slowly opened his right eye. At first everything he saw was blurry. He blinked a few times and the beautiful guest bedroom he had fallen asleep in yesterday came into sight. The alarm clock on his bedside dresser said it was seven o'clock. He'd been asleep for almost twenty-two hours but he felt horrible. He sat up and stretched his fins to make them fell less stiff and then he heard a gentle knock on his door.

Victor cleared his throat. "Who is it?" he asked weakly.

"It's Lino," replied the person knocking.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Don Lino, who also looked like he had just woken up. "Good morning, Victor," he said as he carefully approached his guest. "Did you sleep well?"

Victor was still weary but he had enough strength to smile and reply. "Yes, Sir. Thanks for asking."

"How do you feel?" Lino asked.

Victor yawned again, "I'm sorry to say not much better. I feel sore all over."

Lino suddenly looked unhappy. "Did Kathleen give you any sleeping pills?" he asked.

"Yeah she did."

Lino sighed. "I've told her more than a thousand times not to give people those things. They do their job right, but they have weird side effects."

"It's okay, Lino," said Victor. "I'm glad she made me take them. Truth be told, if I hadn't taken them I wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep last night."

"Really? Was your eye bothering you that much?"

"It wasn't just my eye. I had a lot of stuff on my mind."

"Like what?"

Victor was silent for a few seconds. "Too much. I don't even know where to begin."

Lino smiled. "Well how about you and me grab some coffee and you can tell me what's on your mind."

"Great idea," said Victor. "For some reason I'm craving caffeine right now."

"That's just another side effect."

The two sharks went to Starfishbucks, bought themselves some coffee and sat down at a table. Victor was still a little drowsy, but after a few sips of his coffee he felt good as new.

"Feel better?" Lino asked.

"Much better," said Victor.

"Good. So what'd you wanna tell me, Victor?"

"Well first of all," Victor began, "I wanted to thank you for what you did. Not just for letting me stay with you but for helping me stand up to my dad and for scaring him away."

"You're welcome."

"You don't know how much that meant to me," Victor continued. "Ever since that day, my life has been better than ever. I've made new friends, I got an awesome job at Marlin's Whale Wash, and pretty soon I might even have a real girlfriend. I finally remember what it's like to have fun. I haven't been so happy since…" Victor didn't look happy anymore.

"Since what?" Lino asked.

Victor closed his good eye and finally answered. "Since my mom died."

Being reminded of Veronica made Lino's heart sink like a rock. Other than Kathleen, she was the most incredible female shark he'd ever met; beautiful, smart, talented, and a heart made of gold. And to Victor, she was much more than his mom, she was his best friend and his confidant. For almost a whole minute, the two sharks sat at their table in silence. At last, Lino spoke.

"Victor?"

Victor opened his eye and looked at the older shark.

"You never did tell me why Vince killed her."

"It's not really a day I like to remember," Victor mumbled.

"If you don't wanna talk about it, I understand."

"No, no. It's okay," said Victor.

"You sure?" Lino asked.

Victor nodded and began exploring his memory. "I was a few months older than sixteen," he explained to Lino. "It was late at night and I was coming home from a movie. When I went into our tugboat house, I heard my folks yelling at each other. I didn't mind at first because they'd been arguing everyday for years. But when I heard a punch and my mom scream I knew it was gonna be bad. I went to the living room and saw my mom on the floor and my dad standing over her. I asked them what was going on even though I was afraid to. My mom told me to go to bed and that everything was gonna be alright. Of course I knew she was lying and I didn't wanna leave her, but the evil look in my dad's eyes told me I should do what she said. I left them alone but instead of going to my room I hid in the hallway to see what would happen next. Once they were sure I'd left, my dad told my mom to say her prayers and then…" Victor's voice sounded suddenly shaky. "He attacked her."

Lino stared at Victor looking like he was about to cry. "What'd you do?" he asked.

"The only thing I could do. I came out of hiding, my dad saw me and told me never to speak of that to anyone unless I wanted to end up like her. So for the next three years I tried to stay on his good side by doing whatever he told me to and by keeping my mom's death a secret."

"Let me get something straight," said Lino, who looked disappointed as well as confused. "You're telling me that you continued to live with your dad for three years even though you knew he was a dangerous murderer?"

Victor nodded.

"I don't get it. You always knew he killed your mom, why didn't you run away or call someone when you had the chance?"

Victor shrugged sadly. "It's not like I had a choice. He was the only family I had. I couldn't just betray him like that."

"Victor, your mom was like a sister to me. I know she wouldn't have wanted you to be miserable and Vince was the source of all your misery. Just look what he did to your eye."

Victor thought for a few minutes and finally realized that Lino telling the truth. "You're right, Lino. Mom wouldn't be happy if she knew my dad was making my life a nightmare."

"No, she wouldn't," Lino agreed. "But that nightmare's about to end. I'll have my boys search everywhere for Vince. Once we find him, he'll be sorry he ever messed with you."

"Thanks, Lino." Victor felt grateful for what Lino was doing for him, but there was one other thing that was on his mind. Thinking about Vince made him remember that he, Vince, had tricked Victor into telling him Lenny was alive. _"How am I gonna tell Lino?" _he thought to himself._ "Will he understand it was an accident? Should I even tell him? No I won't. He just said he'll have his boys search everywhere. They'll find my dad before he can put whatever his stupid plan is into action. I won't even have to worry."_ But Victor wasn't sure if this was the truth. He kept getting the desire to tell Lino what he'd done but his brain wouldn't let him. So for the rest of the time they were at Starfishbucks, he was silent.

Back at Lino's liner, Lenny had just woken up and was swimming anxiously to Victor's guestroom. When he got there, the door was wide open but Victor was gone. Lenny wondered where he could've gone so early in the morning.

At that moment, Kathleen appeared. "Good morning, Lenny," she greeted her son.

"Hey Mom, do you know where Victor is?" Lenny asked.

"Oh, I forgot you wanted to talk to him before work," Kathleen said sadly. "He and your father went out to get some coffee."

Lenny looked hurt. "Without me?"

"Aw, don't be sad, Sweetie. They probably didn't think you wanted to go with them because you were still in bed."

"I guess," Lenny said with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Are you alright?" Kathleen asked.

Lenny nodded. "I'm gonna…go get ready for work." He turned around and went back to his room to fetch his utility belt.

_End of Chapter_

**Author's Note: **Sorry about that long wait. It took me a long time to think about what's gonna happen next. I promise the next chapter won't take as long.


	5. Chapter 5: Victor at the Wash

_Chapter 5_

Victor had been staying with Lenny and his family for a week now. His eye was beginning to look normal again and he'd been sleeping much better now that he knew he was safe from Vince. He really appreciated what Lino was doing for him. Not just for keeping him protected but for reminding him what family time was all about.

The two sharks had spent every moment together ever since their visit to Starfishbucks. Lenny had barely spent ten minutes with either of them since Victor's arrival so the fact that they were inseparable made him feel left out and a little jealous. But as long as they were both happy then he was happy, or so he thought anyway.

One morning while Lenny was preparing for his shift at the Wash, he heard someone knocking on his bedroom door.

"Come in," he said to whoever was knocking.

The door opened and Victor came inside looking rather happy. "Hey Lenny, how's it goin'?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Victor," Lenny said trying to hide his small amount of jealousy. "Listen if you're looking for my Pop, he's got an important meeting this morning so…"

"I know," Victor interrupted. "I wasn't looking for him. I wanted to see how you were doing."

Lenny was rather surprised by this. "Really?"

"Yeah, man. You didn't think I'd come over here and not wanna hang out with my new little bro, did ya?"

Lenny smiled. "Well, no I guess not."

"So what are ya up to?"

"Ah you know, just getting ready for work."

"Oh yeah, Lino told me you work at Sykes' Whale Wash," Victor said.

"Yup, and my shift starts in forty-five minutes so I gotta swim." Lenny put on his utility belt and quickly swam out the door. "I'll catch ya later, Victor!"

"Wait!" Victor called to him.

Lenny stopped where he was and turned to face him. "What is it?"

"Well," Victor said kind of nervously, "I was just wondering if maybe you needed any help at the Wash?"

"You wanna come to work with me?" Lenny asked.

"Yes!" Victor yelled in excitement. "Can I, Lenny? I know everything about washing whales. Please?"

Lenny thought for a moment. "Well…"

Victor folded his fins together and gave Lenny a puppy dog face. "Mmmmmm?" he whined.

Lenny chuckled and finally gave in, not because Victor's little act was cute but because it was pitiful. "Okay, fine."

"SWEET!" Victor yelled.

Without wasting another second, the two sharks left the liner and headed for the Whale Wash. At first they were both kind of silent, but when they were about half way to the Wash a question came to Victor's mind.

"Hey Lenny, how's Angie been doin'?"

I can't say Lenny didn't see that coming. "Oh she's just fine. And I think she'll be really pleased to see you."

"I sure am looking forward to seeing her," said Victor. "I've been missing her so much lately."

"She's been missing you too. In fact when she heard about your eye, she put together a huge get-well present for you."

"Whoa, for real?" Victor laughed.

"Yeah. Chocolates, a picture of her, a stuffed seahorse, and a…" Lenny went silent when he remembered the "romantic" love poem.

Victor looked puzzled. "A what?"

Lenny decided not to tell him about that incident. "Uh, nothing."

"Okay…" said Victor. "Well that sure was, um, sweet of her. Maybe a little _too_ sweet."

Lenny chuckled. "I know, talk about pushin' it."

"Yeah. Either way, I guess it's the thought that counts. At least Angie's heart's in the right place."

"True that."

Then another question hit Victor. "By the way, is she still with that weird guy, uh, Omar?"

"Oscar," Lenny corrected.

"Right, Oscar. My bad."

"It's cool, and yeah she is."

Victor's face suddenly went gloomy. "Oh."

"What's wrong?" Lenny asked. "Don't you think Oscar's cool?"

"No, he is," said Victor. "It's just that…you know. He doesn't really think…I am."

"Oh."

"What is it he hates about me? I never did anything bad to him, did I?"

Lenny shook his head. "Don't listen to him; he's just threatened by you 'cause you draw Angie to you like a magnet."

"Well honestly I don't blame him. I'd be kinda ticked if my girl was attracted to some other guy."

"Hey ya know what, Victor?" said Lenny. "You and Oscar really should get to know each other."

Victor thought about that for a few seconds and finally agreed. "You're right. I just want us to be cool."

"I know you do. Tell you what; the three of us have the day off from work tomorrow. Maybe the four of us can all hang out at my place tonight and order pizza."

"Sounds cool to me," Victor smiled. "But will it be cool with Oscar?"

"Don't worry, Angie's got him covered," Lenny assured.

Minutes later, they arrived at the Wash. Before Lenny could punch in and start working, he needed to inform Angie of their company. So the two of them proceeded to Angie's booth and looked inside to see her making a huge fuss over the pile of papers on her desk.

"Hey, Angie?" Lenny asked hoping he wasn't interrupting. "Can I ask you something?"

Angie was so busy she didn't even look up at him. "Only if you make it quick, Lenny," she replied almost panicking. "This may be the busiest work day the Wash has ever seen."

Judging by the extremely long line of dirty whales waiting outside the wash to be cleaned and the very few already washed whales that were leaving, Angie was absolutely right.

"Whoa, looks like I came at the right time," Victor said with a small laugh. "Do ya think I can help out, Angie?"

"Well I guess if you really want…AHHHHH!" Angie looked up from her mountain of paperwork and nearly lost consciousness when she saw Victor. She quickly brushed herself off, cleared her throat, and put on a "sexy" smile. "Well hello there, Victor. Long time no see."

Victor leaned towards her just a tiny bit. "_Way_ too long," he replied in a flirty voice.

Before either of them or Lenny could say another word, Oscar showed up to begin his shift. When he saw Victor and Angie staring blankly at each other, his blood pressure went through the roof. "WHAT IN THE HALIBUT IS THIS?" he roared, scaring Angie, Victor, and Lenny to death. "YOU TAKE YOUR EYS OFF MY GIRL, PRETTY BOY!"

Angie sighed. "Oscar, take it easy. Victor and I were just saying hi."

"_Saying hi_?" Oscar repeated as he entered Angie's booth. "Looked more like he was tryin' to make a move to me."

"Oh, Oscar." Angie turned her attention back to Victor. "I'm sorry Victor, what was your question?"

"Uh, I was just wondering if maybe I could help out around here. I mean if you don't want me too, it's cool."

Oscar scoffed. "You better believe we don't…"

Angie covered his mouth with her fin. "Of course you can. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Victor."

"Yes! Thanks, Ang."

Oscar snarled evilly in response to Victor calling her Ang.

"Come on, Victor," said Lenny. "We'd better get to work."

"Right behind ya."

After the two sharks left, Oscar, whose mouth was still covered by Angie's fin, frowned at her and made a disapproving comment on letting Victor help out. Though his comment was muffled, Angie knew exactly what he was saying.

"I most certainly am _not_ kissing up to him!" she snapped angrily at him. She turned Oscar's head and pointed at the endless line of dirty whales. "Look at all those costumers, Oscar. We need all the help we can get."

Oscar made another rude but muffled comment.

"Don't you back sass me, Mister Man!" Angie tightly squeezed his lips causing him to give a muffled scream and then she literally threw him out of the booth. "Now get busy!"

It turned out that Victor was even better at washing whales than everyone had expected. He knew how to operate every piece of the machinery, made sure none of the whales got suds in their eyes (small joke), and didn't even mind tongue scrubbing. Without trying to show off, Victor worked harder and faster at scrubbing and sweeping than ten of the Wash's employees put together. If any of the other employees were in need of assistance, he was delighted to lend a helping fin. And of course, every last girl employee couldn't keep their eyes off of him. As they watched him scrub, they would whisper to each other and say things like, "Finally, a man who isn't afraid to get down and dirty." Even the guy employees, with the exception of jealous Oscar, were impressed by Victor's work effort and generosity.

By five o'clock, the massive line of dirty, slimy whales that had been waiting outside that same morning had completely vanished and no more costumers appeared to be showing up.

"Unbelievable!" Angie said to Oscar, Lenny, and Victor, whose hard work had left him covered in filth from head to tail. "We just washed three quarters of all the whales on the South Side Reef and it's not even closing time. Victor, you're amazing!"

Victor was flattered and felt proud of himself. "Ah don't mention it, Ang. I promised myself I wouldn't be a freeloader while I'm here." He threw his fin around Lenny's shoulders. "Plus I wanted to spend some time with my little bro."

"Well either way, I can't thank you enough," Angie continued. "If you hadn't come I don't know what we would've done. I say this calls for a celebration."

"How does pizza at my place sound?" Lenny asked.

"All four of us?" Angie asked hopefully.

"Sounds awesome," said Victor.

"Or how 'bout just three of us?" Oscar suggested.

Angie glared at him with a threatening look in her eyes. "How 'bout I strangle you 'til you like the first idea?"

Oscar gulped. "When you put it that way, why not all four of us? The more the merrier I guess."

"That's more like it," said Angie. "Now let's close up and get to Lenny's."

_End of chapter_

_**Author's note:**__ (laughs nervously) Hi, everyone. Okay I know I kinda promised this chapter wouldn't take as long as the last one. I'm really sorry about that. I've just been so lazy! I hope this chapter will be worth the wait. I don't know when the next chapter will be up but I swear it won't take as long as this one. Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6: Confessions

_Chapter 6_

After closing the Wash, the four friends left for Lenny's place. As you can probably imagine, Angie was staring dreamily at Victor the whole entire time and Oscar was glancing angrily at her. Lenny hoped today would be the day he'd be able to create an everlasting peace between them. And if it wasn't, God only knew who Angie would choose as her man.

When they finally arrived, Kathleen was surprised to see them all home from work before seven. Lenny explained to her that thanks to Victor's assistance, they were able to finish work an hour early. Kathleen certainly was impressed.

"Victor," she said, "you really are a man of your word. You said you weren't going to be a freeloader and you're not."

Victor smiled. "Eh, what can I say?"

"Well you could say my new facial mask makes me look ten years younger. I'm still waiting for Lino to say that."

"Kathleen, you look young enough to be my sister." If Victor had any fingers, they would've been crossed.

Kathleen blushed. "Oh Victor, I love you like the son I never had."

Lenny cleared his throat to remind his mother of his existence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lenny. I just meant…well…"

Lenny sighed. "I know what you meant, Mom."

"Okay, good. Well I'd better get going. I have some errands to run. Your father and I will be home late, so you boys can do whatever you want for dinner."

"Mom, is it cool if Oscar and Angie spend the night?" Lenny asked.

"Oh of course," Kathleen answered. "They're always welcome here."

"Thanks, Mom," Lenny said as the four friends proceeded to his bedroom.

"You're welcome. I'll see you later."

Lenny pulled out his cell phone once they were in his room. "Okay guys, I'll order the pizza. What do you want on it?"

"Here's an idea," said Oscar. "We get a plain cheese pizza. And when it gets here, we can put anchovies on it."

"We don't have any anchovies," said Lenny.

"Sure we do. Right there." Oscar pointed to Victor.

Angie angrily poked Oscar where his nose would be. "Listen to me very closely, Oscar," she warned in a dangerously quiet voice. "I will _not_ tolerate that attitude of yours tonight. This is a night of having fun and hanging out with our friends. If I hear even one rude or disrespectful comment from you, I will kill you myself and _you_ can be our pizza topping. Do I make myself clear?"

Oscar gulped. "Crystal."

"Good."

"Hey, I know what'll get this party started," Victor said while Lenny ordered the pizza.

"Spin the bottle?" Angie asked trying to act flirty.

"Better," said Victor. "_Metal Octopus 67_!"

Oscar scoffed. "_You_ play _Metal Octopus 67_?"

"Oh please, Oscar," said Angie. "Everybody plays _Metal Octopus 67_. That game's a classic."

"That it is, Angie," said Victor. "And not to brag or anything, but I happen to be the king."

Oscar went wide-eyed. "Excuse me?! If anybody is the king of giant metal octopuses with laser-shooting tentacles, zombie barracudas, ninja killer whales, and seriously nasty oil spills, it's me!"

"No doubt about that," Angie said to no one in particular.

Victor crossed his fins in front of his chest. "Oh, ya think so?"

"I _know_ so, pretty boy," said Oscar. "That game was invented by Japanese geniuses but perfected by me."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "So sure of yourself, eh? How 'bout you and I have a go and we'll see who's the real king of _Metal Octopus 67_?"

"You're on," Oscar agreed.

"Alright then. I'll go get the game and my FishBox."

"This is gonna be good," Angie whispered to Lenny as Victor left the room.

"I'll say. And it'll give us something to do while we wait for the pizza."

"How much time will the delivery take?"

"They said forty-five minutes to an hour."

"I hope they'll be done playing by then," said Angie.

"I hope they let you and me take a turn," said Lenny.

Victor returned moments later with his FishBox, the _Metal Octopus 67_ game and two wireless controllers (one of them was fish-sized for Oscar to use).

"Brace yourself, pretty boy," Oscar said to Victor after they had set up the game to Lenny's TV. "You're about to be smothered by the real king of _Metal Octopus 67_ and his pet robotic cephalopod."

Victor's reply was short and polite but at the same time challenging. "May the best fish win."

"Oh I assure you, he will," Oscar boasted. And with that, the challenge was on.

It turned out Victor and Oscar were both as good at _Metal Octopus 67_ as they said they were. By the time the pizza arrived, the two of them were still playing and their scores were tied. And they were so distracted that Oscar didn't even see Angie paying for the pizza with his money.

At long last, Victor had finally managed to weaken Oscar's Metal Octopus by demonstrating a move that Oscar had never used let alone known about before.

"What the…?" Oscar yelled in shock as one of his octopus's mechanical tentacles detached itself after being blasted by Victor's octopus.

Angie and Lenny, who had saved half the pizza for Oscar and Victor, yelled in relief on the inside. They were starting to think the game would literally never end.

Oscar tried to blast Victor's octopus back with his octopus's remaining tentacles, but by now Victor was pretty much unbeatable. With seven more laser blasts from Victor's octopus, Oscar's octopus was nothing but a large, robotic stump which fell to the ground and blew to smithereens. Oscar nearly burst into tears as the words "GAME OVER" appeared on the TV screen.

"Well, well, well," said a rather proud Victor, "I guess that settles that. Good game, Oscar."

Angie and Lenny were beyond impressed. Someone had finally beaten "King" Oscar at his own game. "Wow, Oscar," Angie laughed. "He really nailed you."

"I'll say. You go, Victor," said Lenny.

"Oh shut up, you two!" Oscar snapped. "I know he nailed me, don't rub it in."

Angie lost patience. "Lighten up, Oscar. We're just having fun."

"There's nothing fun about him taking away everything that's important to me!"

"Hey Oscar, take it easy man," said Victor. "I'm not trying to make you look bad."

"Well you are, _Your Majesty_!"

"Oscar, why can't you just accept defeat and congratulate him?" Angie asked.

"I'll tell you why, 'cause I've had enough of accepting defeat. I've had to accept defeat all my life and I'm not gonna do it again! Especially not for the likes of him!"

"What are you talking about, Oscar?" Victor asked.

"I'm talking about how I've always been a loser in everybody's eyes."

Angie sighed. "Here we go again."

Oscar ignored her and continued. "Do you have any idea what my childhood was like, growing up in a family _lower_ than lower-middle class? We couldn't afford new toys, stylish clothes, or even for me to go on field trips. All I ever wanted was to become rich and famous so I could actually make something of my life and no longer accept defeat from anyone. I refuse to go back to Planet Loser. I wanna be looked at as a winner, a leader, a …"

"A somebody?" Angie interrupted.

Oscar frowned at her. "Exactly, Ang. A somebody. The kind of person you could've grown up to be."

"What do you mean, Oscar?" Lenny asked.

"Angie here knows more than anybody what it's like to be the spoiled kid of millionaires. Don't you, Ang?"

"You used to be a millionaire, Angie?" Victor asked.

For a few seconds Angie said nothing. She simmered up to Lenny's window and looked up to the dark sky that sparkled with stars above the ocean's surface. "Okay, yes," she said with a sour kind of attitude. "That was my life. Up until I finished Middle School anyway. I was the richest kid in school who everyone wanted to be around. Every guy wanted to date me, every girl wanted to be my best friend, and the kiss-up hall monitors always let me get out of class without a hall pass. My life must've been great, right? Well it wasn't. My parents were really strict and they never let me have any fun. Instead of going out and having fun with friends, I spent my weekends cooped up in my room studying. I couldn't take it anymore. So I ran away to live with my grandma and I never went back."

"How sad," said Oscar. "You gave up a life of popularity and wealth to become a regular person."

Angie turned around and shot a look of anger at him. "Oscar, I thought you'd realize by now that money gets control of people and often turns them into huge, lying jerks!"

"What are you saying?" Oscar asked.

"I'm saying you're a money hungry dope who's pompous and jealous and you don't care what you do to become a somebody, even if it means lying to your best friends!"

"STOP IT!" Lenny yelled. Oscar, Angie, and Victor all glared at him. "I can't take this anymore. You two love each other more than anyone else in the world. You shouldn't let anyone else come between you. No offense, Victor."

"None taken, man," Victor replied, though still in shock from Lenny's outburst. "And you know? He's got a point. Oscar, you really shouldn't be jealous of me. I like Angie a lot but I was never gonna steal her from you."

"Really?" Oscar asked.

"Really."

"You see, Oscar?" Angie asked. "He was just trying to be friendly to me. My heart belongs to you."

Oscar's lower lip started shaking. "R-really, Ang?"

"Of course. He just happens to be smarter, nicer, and better looking than you."

Oscar's tearful smile vanished. "Cute," he said. Then he turned to Victor. "Victor, this isn't easy for me to say but I really owe you and apology. We cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Victor replied. "But since we're all speaking of difficult past lives, it sounds to me like you both had it easy growing up."

"You really think so?" Angie asked.

"I know so. You were lucky to have families that at least cared about you and what you did. My dad never wanted me around."

"That can't be completely true," said Angie. "If he didn't want you around, why did he bring you to the Black Pearl with him when we first met?"

"To carry his bags," Victor replied. "For three miserable years he treated me like a slave instead of a son. I never got an "I love you," or a pat on the back, or any of that awesome stuff Lenny gets everyday. Instead I get a dead mom and a black eye."

Lenny placed a fin on Victor's shoulder. "I'm really sorry you've had it so rough, Victor."

"It's okay, Lenny. But it's so weird. I feel like I don't have anybody in the world."

"You've got me," said Lenny.

Angie simmered up to them. "And me," she said.

"And me," said Oscar.

Victor smiled. "Thanks guys. You're the best of the best."

A few hours later, the four friends decided to turn in. Lenny set up sleeping bags in his room for the other three. Even though Victor had the opportunity to sleep in his own room, he felt it was unnecessary for a slumber party.

They said their goodnights and Victor, Angie, and Oscar fell asleep in just seconds. Lenny, however, was kept awake by the thought of his sudden outburst from when Oscar and Angie had been arguing earlier. Why had he gotten so mad all of a sudden? He had put up with those two arguing with each other since he'd known them but he'd never screamed at them like that before.

For almost an hour, Lenny thought and thought about it but never found a solution. _"Guess there's nothing for me to do but sleep on it,"_ he thought to himself. Lenny yawned widely and fell asleep unaware that he, along with his friends, was being watched.

_End of chapter_


	7. Chapter 7: Uptight Lenny

_Chapter 7_

As the sun rose the next morning it filled Lenny's room with its warm and glorious light, casting long shadows on the walls.

The young shark was still sound asleep in his cozy bed without a care in the world. Since he didn't have to go to work at the loud and annoying Whale Wash today, he decided to sleep in for the first time in a week and not wake up until whenever he pleased.

But then suddenly… RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!

"AH!"

Lenny was awoken by a loud, peace breaking alarm clock which he recognized as Victor's. He angrily shut his eyes and covered his ears with his pillow to try and cancel out the hideous ringing. He hoped Victor would wake up any second and turn the alarm off, but for some reason the stupid thing wouldn't shut up.

At last Lenny had had more than enough. He sat up and looked in the direction of Victor's sleeping bag to complain to him. "VICTOR FOR CRYIN' OUTLOUD, WOULD YA TURN THAT STUPID THING…" But Victor's sleeping bag was empty, as were Oscar's and Angie's. Apparently they didn't need the most obnoxious sound in the world to wake them up early. Lucky them.

Lenny snarled and got out of bed to stop the madness. Victor's alarm clock said that it was seven thirty. Lenny hadn't planned on waking up for at least four hours. After he'd figure out how to turn the alarm off, he was going to have one violent talk with Victor.

"UGH! HOW DO YA TURN THIS PIECE OF JUNK OFF?!" he yelled over the roar of the alarm.

When he couldn't figure out how to turn it off, he thought of a different way to shut it up. He stuck the little demon in his mouth, chewed it into little pieces with his strong teeth, and swallowed the remnants. "That settles that. Now to deal with pretty boy."

Lenny furiously left his room and started searching the hallway for Victor. Minutes later when he saw the bathroom door was closed, he figured Victor was in there.

He knocked impatiently on the door. "VICTOR?!" he snapped. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! YOUR STUPID ALARM CLOCK WOKE ME UP! YOU'D BETTER OPEN UP SO I CAN GIVE YOU A PIECE OF MY MIND!"

The door opened and out came Oscar, who was so busy dancing and singing to himself that he hadn't listened to Lenny's way of saying good morning.

"Hey Lenny," Oscar said perkily. "How ya doin'?"

Lenny glanced at him. "I was doin' just fine. Then I was woken up by the worst thing I've ever heard! Where's Victor?"

Oscar was no longer perky. "Uh… I dunno. He was up before I was."

Lenny scoffed. "Great. Just great!"

"Uh, Lenny? Are you feelin' okay?"

"Me? Oh of course I am! What makes you think otherwise?"

"Just wonderin'," said Oscar. "But as long as you're okay, I'm sure ya won't mind if I told you I used your toothbrush this mornin' 'cause I accidentally left mine at home."

For a few seconds Lenny's expression was blank. "_You_ used _my _toothbrush?"

"Uh huh. And let me tell ya it's not easy to brush your teeth with a brush that's bigger than you. Anyway, you're okay with it, aren't ya?"

"_You're okay with it, aren't ya?_" Lenny mocked. "Oh yeah, I'm okay with it! Why wouldn't I be? You're my best friend after all! It ain't like I care if I get your old chewed food in my mouth the next time I brush my teeth! Tell ya what Oscar, maybe next time we have a sleepover I can get even with you by using your toothbrush! How's that sound, huh?!"

Oscar stared, apparently in shock. He didn't know how to reply. "Lenny…"

Just then Victor showed up wearing a sweatband around his temples and breathing deeply. "Hey guys," he said breathlessly. "How's it goin'?"

"It's about time I found you! Where've you been?" Lenny snapped.

"Lino and I went out for an early morning swim. Man, I feel great!"

Lenny pouted. "Well how nice for you! Ya know while you were out workin' up a sweat, I was woken up by your stupid alarm clock!"

"Oops, my bad Lenny," said Victor. "I was gonna turn it off before I went to bed last night but I was having such a good time with you guys that I just forgot. No hard feelings right?"

"No Victor, of course not. I couldn't care less about waking up at seven thirty to the most horrible sound in the world! Especially considering I planned to sleep in 'til at least eleven 'cause it's my first day off in a week!"

"Whoa, Lenny just take it easy," said Victor.

Lenny smiled deviously. "Oh don't you worry, pretty boy. Now I _can_ take it easy 'cause that alarm clock of yours is no more."

"What are you talking about?" Victor asked.

"Well let's just say nothin' makes your morning better than breakfast in bed," Lenny chuckled.

Victor went wide-eyed. "You _ate_ my alarm clock?"

"Yup, and believe me it tasted better than it sounded."

Victor and Oscar looked at each other in confusion. "Len, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Oscar asked again.

"UGH! For the sake of the good Lord above, yes I'm feeling okay! What's it to ya?!"

"Nothing really," Victor said nervously. "It's just that you're acting kinda…"

Lenny frowned. "Kinda what, Victor?!"

"Well… Uptight."

"Uptight?!" Lenny repeated furiously. "I'm not uptight! I'm just not a morning person is all! Is that so wrong?!"

Oscar wasn't buying this. He knew his best friend wasn't acting like this just because he wasn't a morning person. He crossed his fins and said, "Lenny, you're seriously in denial."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, ya kinda are," Oscar replied.

"I'M NOT UPTIGHT AND I'M NOT IN DENIAL! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lenny swam off in a huff leaving Victor and Oscar feeling both insulted and concerned about their friend.

Lenny was so furious that he hardly noticed his dad swimming towards him. Like Victor, Lino was wearing a sweatband and was a little short of breath because of his early morning swim. He patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Mornin' Lenny. Sleep well?"

"Don't touch me!" Lenny barked pushing his dad's fin off his shoulder.

Lino looked hurt and surprised as he watched Lenny swim off without looking behind. "Lenny?" Lenny didn't stop or turn around; he just kept swimming away until he was out of sight. Lino turned around and shot a questioning look at Victor and Oscar, who responded simply by shrugging.

Lenny spent most of the rest of the day trying to avoid everybody. Whenever someone would accidentally swim in his way, he would yell at them to get out of his way, insult them, or, in Oscar's case, even try to bite them. He didn't want to see them, talk to them, or even hear their voices. So he locked himself in his room for a few hours to escape them and their "screw ups".

Even when he was all alone in his room with no one around to get in his way or repeatedly ask him if he was feeling alright, he still felt angry. Once in a while, he would ask himself why he was feeling like this. Who or what was he so mad at and why? His memory went back to the previous day. Did something happen at work that made him mad? No it couldn't have been that. Victor had single-handedly made that one of the best workdays of his life. Maybe his parents did something to upset him? No, defiantly not. He didn't see Lino the whole day and he only saw Kathleen for a few minutes. Then what was it? It wasn't Victor and Oscar's hilarious battle at _Metal Octopus 67_, hearing his friends confess their lives to each other, or Victor and Oscar finally calling a truce.

Then it hit him. He remembered he had gotten mad at Oscar and Angie for getting into an argument. Okay so he'd figured out when his anger started, but how it started was still a mystery. As previously mentioned, those two had been arguing with each other around the clock since they became a couple but until last night Lenny had never gotten mad about it. What would suddenly make him turn his tolerance into frustration? There was defiantly something else behind this. But what?

Lenny sat down on his bed and thought. Hours passed until Kathleen came knocking on his bedroom door telling him dinner was ready.

Even at the dinner table he refused to socialize with his family and friends. While Lino, Kathleen, and Victor talked amongst themselves and while Angie talked to Oscar about typical girly stuff and Oscar only pretended to listen, Lenny savored his dinner quietly and kept thinking.

By the time everyone else had finished eating, Lenny still had food on his plate.

Kathleen was concerned that he didn't like her cooking anymore. "Lenny sweetie, you've barely touched your dinner. Is anything wrong?"

"Hmm," Lenny responded without looking up from his plate.

"That may be the sweetest thing he's said all day," Oscar whispered to Angie.

This finally caught Lenny's attention. "I heard that!"

"Good," Oscar replied. "Maybe that'll show you what a jerk you've been all day."

Lenny angrily dropped his fork on the table. "YOU WANNA SAY THAT TO MY FACE, OSCAR?!"

"Lenny, please," said Kathleen. "What's gotten into you?"

"None of your business!"

"Lenny, calm down," Angie pleaded. "We're just trying to help you."

"I don't need help from any of you!"

"See?" Oscar said to everyone else. "I told ya he was in denial."

Lenny snarled and furiously got out of his chair. "FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, I'M _NOT_ IN DENIAL! NOTHING'S WRONG WITH ME AND I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! EVERYBODY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" And with that he immediately left the dining room.

Once everyone was sure he was gone, Lino spoke. "What is up with him?" he asked worriedly. "He's been acting like that all day."

"You think that's bad?" Oscar asked. "He almost bit me today, just 'casue I was standing in his way!"

"Okay, that really isn't like Lenny."

"None of this is like Lenny," said Angie. "Something must be bothering him."

Kathleen nodded in agreement. "You're right. Something _is_ bothering him, and I have a feeling I know what it is."

"Oh?" Lino asked. "What is it then?"

"Lino, do you remember when you and Victor went out for coffee about a week ago?"

"Uh huh."

"Well it really hurt him when he found out that you two went and didn't include him," Kathleen continued.

Lino looked puzzled. "What are you saying, Katie?"

"I'm saying he felt left out. And since you've been with Victor so much all week he probably thinks you've forgotten all about him."

For a few long minutes, Lino said nothing. At last he got out of his chair. "I'm gonna go talk to him," he said as he left the dining room.

After Lino had left, Oscar, Angie, and Kathleen turned to Victor, who they noticed had been unusually quiet during this whole conversation. Victor looked petrified for some reason. As if he had turned into a zombie. His eyes were wide, his mouth was half open, and his body was holding still as a statue. He was either deep in thought or was suffering from something far worse than whatever Lenny was.

"Victor, are you alright?" Kathleen asked.

Victor didn't reply, let alone show any signs of having heard the question.

"I'll see if he's alright," Oscar volunteered. He slowly and nervously swam up to Victor's face and began waving his fin in front of his eyes. "Victor? Hello? Earth to Victor. Are ya still with us?" Victor still didn't respond. Oscar lost patience and lightly slapped Victor on the cheek. "Hey Victor! Snap out of it!"

Thankfully, Victor finally did snap out of it. "Wh – Wha? What?"

"Yay!" Oscar cheered. "He's with us again!"

Kathleen asked again, "Are you alright, Victor? We thought we'd lost you for a minute."

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," Victor insisted. "It's just… Well, I just… I gotta go." Before anyone could say a word, Victor left the dining room faster than a speeding dolphin.

"Jeez, is _everyone_ goin' crazy today?" Oscar asked.

Lenny went straight to his room breathing deeply through his nostrils and his eyes practically flickering with evil. He was so upset with everyone that he completely forgot to close the door behind him.

"They're all insane," he said out loud to himself. "I don't need any help. They're the ones that are in denial, not me. I'm perfectly normal. I'm just…going through a phase is all. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow… Won't it?" Then he thought. What if this wasn't just a phase? What if this was the start of something way worse? What would happen if this just kept getting worse? Then Lenny asked himself the same question he'd been asking all day. Why was this happening?

A wave of depression suddenly washed over him. He held his head in his fins as a few tears fell from his eyes. "Who am I kidding?" he asked. "I really do need help! What's wrong with me?!"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Lenny turned around to see Lino standing in his doorway. He tried to hide his tears by covering his red eyes. "Uh, hi Pop."

"Lenny, are you crying?" Lino asked sounding worried.

Lenny sniffed as quietly as possible. "No. No, I'm fine."

Lino of course wasn't buying this. "You sure didn't sound fine when I came in."

Lenny wiped his eyes and didn't say a word.

Lino sighed and put a fin on Lenny's shoulder. "We need to talk." The two of them sat down side by side on Lenny's bed.

"Lenny…"

"Look, Pop," Lenny interrupted. "I know what you're gonna ask but I honestly don't know why I'm acting like this. I just feel so angry about everything all the time."

"Well at least tell me who you're angry at," said Lino.

"I don't know who or why, Pop. I'm just angry."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Lenny replied honestly.

"Victor?"

"No."

"Your mom?"

"No."

"Then who? Come on son, just tell me."

Lenny suddenly felt his random aggression returning to him. "I SAID I DON'T KNOW! NOW GET OFF MY BACK!"

Lino stared at his son taken aback by his outburst.

Then Lenny realized what he had just done. The look on his face changed from hate to hurt. He broke into tears and threw himself into his father's fins. "I'm sorry, Pop!" Lenny sobbed.

Lino could see he was being sincere so he hugged him back and tried his best to comfort him. "It's okay," he whispered.

Lenny buried his face into Lino's chest and fought for control of himself. After a few minutes, he settled down and the two sharks pulled away.

"You feel better?" Lino asked.

"A little bit," Lenny replied. "Pop, what's happening to me?"

"I wish I knew, Lenny. Guess there's nothing for you to do but sleep on it."

"I'll try, but I don't think I can sleep like this."

"Just try, okay? I'll check on you tomorrow. And if you need anything, just let me know."

Lenny nodded. "I will."

Lino kissed him on the forehead and headed to the door. "Goodnight, son."

"Night, Pop."

Lino left the room and closed the door behind him.

Lenny tucked himself into bed and found it surprisingly easy to fall asleep. While he slept innocently in his bed that night, a certain diabolical plan was continuing to take place.

_End of chapter_


	8. Chapter 8: The Mysterious Book

**A/N: **Before you start reading, I just wanna say I know this is a short chapter and I'm sorry about it. But short as it may be, this is perhaps the most important chapter of the story yet.

_Chapter 8_

After trying his best to interrogate Lenny but unfortunately failing to get any information, Lino went to his bedroom to turn in for the night. Upon arriving he found Kathleen was already there getting ready for bed herself.

"So did you talk to him?" she asked as Lino entered the room.

"Oh yeah, I talked to him," Lino replied.

"And?"

Lino sighed. "And nothing. He isn't mad at me, Victor, or anybody. He doesn't even know why he's been acting like this. This is bad, Katie."

"You're telling me. If he doesn't tell us who or what he's angry with, how are we supposed to help him?"

Lino shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I guess all we can do right now is pray for him and hope he gets over this thing in a few days or so."

"No Lino," Kathleen panicked. "That can't be _all_ we can do. We're his parents, we're supposed to help him with his problems and make him understand them."

"I'm aware of that but we don't know what his problem is, Katie."

"Well then we should call a doctor or something!"

"Katie, we shouldn't make him see a doctor just 'cause he's feeling angry. Whatever this is, I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough."

"Well what if he doesn't, Lino?" Kathleen asked. "What if all this is the beginning of something bad? What if he just keeps getting more and more mad at everybody until he gets ideas about committing suicide or something?"

"Katie, don't say that!"

"Well what if he does, Lino?! We've always been afraid of loosing our sons and we've already lost one of them. I don't wanna loose the only child we have left."

Kathleen sat down on her bed and whipped her tears with her fins. Lino took a seat beside her and wrapped his fin around her shoulders.

"Katie, I love Lenny as much as you do," he said. "I can't bare the thought of loosing him either. But you're gonna have to trust me on this. Let's just try not to bother him about this until it's all over. And if he really needs our help, he'll tell us."

Kathleen thought for a few seconds and then agreed. "Okay, Honey. I just hope you know what you're talking about."

"I do," Lino promised.

They huddled together hoping their son would be alright.

Unbeknownst to both Lino and Kathleen, Victor was right outside their door and had heard everything they had just said.

"_Wow, Kathleen really sounds devastated,"_ he thought to himself. _"Then again who could blame her? Poor Lenny. God only knows what's gotten into him. I'd better do what Lino says and leave him alone. I mean if I was suddenly getting all mad over nothing, I sure as heck wouldn't want anyone getting up in my business. But dang, this really isn't like Lenny. If I didn't know better I'd swear it was really…my dad!"_

Victor suddenly remembered something that he'd been keeping a secret from everyone. Without wasting another second, he quickly dashed to his room and locked the door tightly so no one would invade his privacy. Then he peeked under his bed and pulled a mysterious book out from underneath.

He had only seen this book twice before. Days ago after Vince broke into his home and attacked him, Victor woke up minutes later and found the book on the floor beside him. He did not mention it to Lino on the phone nor did he read or open it. So as he packed his stuff to prepare to leave and stay with Lino's family, he packed the book carefully into his suitcase in case it had anything to do with Vince's secret plan. The next day when Victor was safely settled in his guestroom, he hid the book under his bed and kept it there until anything out of the ordinary happened. And right now something out of the ordinary _was_ happening.

Ever since that night, this book had left Victor both curious and suspicious. Just the title had yelled out the words evil plan: "Mind Invasions for Dummies." Victor assumed that if this book had anything to do with Lenny's unusual behavior, then Vince's plan for revenge was to invade Lenny's mind causing him (Lenny) to become more and more like him (Vince) and then… Heaven only knew what Vince would do after that.

Victor's head was buzzing with so many questions. Was Vince behind whatever was happening to Lenny? If he was, how could he possibly be evil enough to use the sweetest and most innocent shark in the sea for his revenge? What would happen to Lenny if Vince's plan would be a success? What would Vince do to him (Victor) and Lino if he did succeed? And most importantly, how was he going to explain that this whole mess was partially his fault to Lino? After all if he hadn't accidentally told Vince that Lenny was still alive and open for the kill, Vince wouldn't be possibly invading the younger sharks mind at that very moment.

But then Victor felt guilty about something else. Should he really have kept the strange book entitled "Mind Invasions for Dummies" a secret? Perhaps he should show it to Lino. It might be able to explain Lenny's mysterious behavior. No, he couldn't. He couldn't explain his most likely true theory to Lino without mentioning that he had given Vince all the information he needed. Then again, maybe Lino would understand that it was an accident and that Vince had tricked him into telling. Oh, but would Lino even let him explain that?

All these confusing questions and theories were practically torturing Victor's mind. He furiously threw the book onto the floor and buried his face into his pillow.

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" he roared with his voice muffled beneath his pillow so that no one would hear him.

Victor had never felt so many emotions at one time in his life. He felt stupid for being tricked into giving Vince the information he needed, scared about what would happen to himself, Lenny, and Lino, confused about what the right thing to do was, and angry at himself for not knowing what the right thing to do was.

All these emotions, thoughts, and feelings were just too much for him to handle. He now understood what poor Lenny was going through. Tears of sorrow began to fill his sapphire eyes as he dozed off into a restless sleep.

_End of chapter_


	9. Chapter 9: The Final Straw

_Weaknesses 9_

Lenny was absent at breakfast the next morning. This really was unusual for him. Being a teenaged male shark, he'd normally be the first one at the table in the morning to break his fast. Lino, Kathleen, Angie, and Victor all stared at his empty seat without taking a single bite of their food.

Oscar was quite another story. He had barely noticed Lenny's absence because he was too busy stuffing his face with Kathleen's awesome cooking.

"Mmm, this is great," he said with his mouth full. "Ya'll have no idea what you're missin'."

Angie glared at him and then tapped him. "Oscar sweetie?"

Oscar continued to stuff food into his mouth. "Yeah?"

Angie angrily slapped him in the back of the head, causing him to choke on his food. "WILL YOU STOP EATING?! For Heaven's sake haven't you noticed that Lenny isn't here? For all we know he could be too mad at us to even look at us right now."

Oscar cleared his throat. "Or he could just be combing his hair and will be down here any second. Now honestly, which sounds more possible?"

"Uh, is that a trick question?"

"Do you think he's okay, sweetie?" Kathleen asked Lino.

Lino sighed. "Guess there's only one way to find out," he said as he rose from his chair. "I'll go check on him."

As soon as Lino reached Lenny's bedroom, he knocked on the door.

"Lenny?"

His heart almost skipped a beat when there was no answer. So he tried again.

"Lenny, are you in there?"

Still there was no answer. Lino placed his trembling fin on the doorknob and twisted it, praying that he would go inside and not see his son's lifeless body lying on the bed. He pushed the door open and nervously looked inside. To his surprise there was no sign of Lenny or any form of life inside the room.

Lino entered the room just to make sure and let out a small scream when he heard the door shut loudly behind him. He turned around quickly and saw Lenny, or rather his retreating back.

"Oh Lenny, you scared me," Lino exhaled nervously.

Lenny didn't turn to face him. "Did I? Gee I'm sorry, Lino."

"Don't worry about…" Lino stopped when he heard Lenny call him by his name. "Did you just call me Lino?"

"Uh… no. Of course I didn't, uh, Pop. You must've heard me wrong."

"No I don't think I did. I could've sworn you just called me Lino."

"Well I didn't! You're probably just getting' old!" Lenny barked. "Now what's so urgent that ya had to bring yourself over here without asking me if you can?"

Lino was growing more and more confused with every word Lenny said. "Uh, I just wanted to see if you were okay. We all wondered why you weren't at breakfast."

"Oh is that what you wondered?" Lenny asked, still refusing to turn around. "Well maybe that ain't none of your business! Maybe I just wanna be alone in my room for a while! Ya ever consider that, old man?!"

Lino didn't answer. Whatever was up with Lenny had without a doubt gotten worse overnight. Lino slowly approached his son and reached out his fin to touch his shoulder. But right as the smallest amount of his fin could touch him, Lenny swam to the other side of the room faster than lightning, still with his back turned to Lino.

"Lenny, can't we just talk?" Lino asked.

"POP, I AM NOT IN THE MOOD!" Lenny bellowed. Then he grabbed a desk lamp from on top of his dresser and threw it directly at Lino, who thankfully jumped out of the way. The lamp hit the wall with a loud smash and shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Lino was relieved it hit the wall instead of his face but was now super mad at Lenny.

"Alright Lenny, that's enough! I don't know what's gotten into you but…" Lino stopped when he saw the reason why Lenny hadn't been facing him.

Lenny's eyes were, instead of their usual shade of emerald green, a horribly familiar shade of dark brown that looked as if his pupils look dilated. Lino approached him slowly without looking away from his eyes.

"Lenny, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Before Lenny could answer, they heard voices coming from outside the door.

"I think it came from Lenny's room," said Victor's voice.

"Oh I hope it's not as bad a sit sounded," said Kathleen's worried voice.

Apparently Kathleen, Victor, Angie, and Oscar had heard Lenny throw the desk lamp at the wall and were now coming to investigate.

"Ah man!" Lenny snapped. "I am so outta here," he said to Lino.

"What are you talking…" Before Lino could say "about", Lenny quickly swam to his window, went right through the sealed pane causing millions of pieces of broken glass to fall to the floor, and fled to the horizon faster than any dolphin. Lino did nothing but stand and watch the long, endless trail of tiny bubbles Lenny left behind.

Just then the door opened and in came Kathleen, Victor, Angie, and Oscar. The sight of her husband standing only a few feet away from a broken window and her son completely absent made Kathleen scream. She quickly swam up to Lino's right side and joined him in staring out the window.

"Lino, what happened?" she asked practically begging for an answer.

Lino was still trying to recover from what had just happened. He just barely had the stomach to explain that his own son had just tried to kill him with a lamp and then flew out a closed window. But he managed to. His voice was trembling the whole time he explained. When he'd finished Kathleen was in tears and Victor, Angie, and Oscar were just staring back at him in shock.

"He threw a lamp at you?" Oscar asked.

Lino nodded. "I'm lucky I ducked. I could've been knocked out."

"Knocked out?" Kathleen asked. "You could've been killed. You're lucky to be alive."

"So then he heard us coming and just… stormed off?" Angie asked.

"This is way beyond nuts," said Oscar.

"And there was something else about him," Lino continued. "His eyes, they were a horrible dark brown color, practically pitch black. They reminded me of… something bad." Lino wanted to say "Vince" but couldn't gather up the courage to imagine another murder attempt try to be done by him.

"So first his personality starts to change, now his eyes?" Angie asked curiously.

"The way I see it there are two things this could mean," said Oscar. "One; Lenny just got new colored contacts, or two; something extremely bad is happening."

The rest of the group glared at him. "Lenny doesn't wear contacts," said Lino.

"Oh. Well then something bad is definitely happening."

Kathleen agreed with this statement one hundred percent. "He's right, Lino. If this isn't proof that things are out of the ordinary, nothing is. Are you ready to admit that yet?"

Lino looked down at the floor. "Oh yeah, I'm ready. Something's seriously wrong with our son. The question is, what is it and how's it happening?"

While everyone else was in deep thought and total silence, Victor was having major conflict with his conscience. Maybe now was the perfect time to tell them about that book under his bedroom entitled "Mind Invasions for Dummies", how he had gotten hold of it, and what he figured was going on with Lenny. Then again, no it _maybe_ wasn't the right time, it _was_ the right time. Because now Lenny was in more trouble than ever and what Victor knew might have been the only way fix this mess.

The time had come. Victor took a deep breath and nervously said, "I think I may know what it is and why it's happening."

_End of chapter_


	10. Chapter 10: The Search Begins

_Weaknesses 10_

Beads of nervous sweat ran down Victor's brow as he said this. Lino, Kathleen, Angie, and Oscar all looked at him in semi shock. He was more nervous now than ever before and everyone was probably going to hate him for hiding everything from them but on the inside he felt like he had finally done the right thing.

"You do, Victor?" Lino asked.

Victor gulped. "Y-yeah, I do," he stuttered. Everyone else was silent, which he took as a sign that he should keep spilling his guts. "Listen everybody, I can't keep this from you anymore. I think my dad's behind all this."

"Victor are you sure about that?" Kathleen asked.

Before Victor could answer, Oscar butted in. "Hey, hold up guys. Now I'm not saying it isn't Vince 'cause for all we know it could be, but we can't just accuse the guy just 'cause he's an evil, stupid maniac. I mean there's millions of those in the ocean and they all have a reason for doing something like this."

"Okay then, Sherlock," Angie retorted. "Who do you think it could be?"

Oscar thought for a moment. "Technically I don't have a clue. But if Victor's a hundred percent sure that it _is_ Vince, he's gotta at least have proof or anything that…"

"I _do _have proof," Victor interrupted.

He led the others to his bedroom and pulled the copy of "Mind Invasions for Dummies" out from under his bed. "I found this lying on the floor of my tugboat house after my dad attacked me," he told them. "I'd never seen it before and I figured he must've accidently left it there after he knocked me out."

"Let me see that, Victor," said Lino.

Victor handed him the book and everyone else gathered around him to get a better look. Lino eyed the book suspiciously and read the title out loud, "Mind Invasions for Dummies?"

"Dang, that's a crummy title for a book," said Oscar.

"Victor, what does this say?" Lino asked.

"I didn't read it," Victor explained. "The title gave me all the information I needed."

"So you haven't even looked in this book but you automatically know that it belongs to Vince?" Oscar asked sounding slightly unconvinced. "For all we know he could've just been holding it for a friend."

"Well actually there's something else. Just before he attacked me he said he had a secret plan to get back at you for firing him," Victor said looking at Lino. "He wouldn't tell me what it was 'cause he wanted it to be a "surprise"."

Lino looked at Victor, then at the book, then back at Victor. "So you're saying…?"

Victor nodded. "My dad read that book, found out how to invade a person's mind, and now he's invading Lenny's mind. That's why Lenny's been acting so uptight and why his eyes are suddenly a different color."

"You mean the Lenny that we thought was Lenny was actually Vince in Lenny's body?" Oscar asked.

"Basically."

"That sure would explain a few things," said Angie. "But why on earth would Vince want to invade Lenny's mind? And what would happen if his "secret plan" was a success?"

Victor shrugged his shoulders, which indicated that he didn't know.

"Well I guess there's only one way to find out," said Lino. "If this book has all the answers we need, then we'd better look through it."

So he opened up the book to the first chapter and the five of them began skimming through the pages, paying the closest attention to every word. Barely an hour had passed when they'd finally finished the entire book. According to which, invading another individual's mind was both dangerous and risky. The invader would have to temporarily surrender their morality (or whatever Vince's case was) in order to enter the mind of another. It was a process that would take exactly seventy-two hours to complete. Within the first twenty-four hours, the invader would be in control of the victim's emotions, causing them to behave more and more like them as time went by. Within the next twenty-four hours, the victim would begin to take the physical form of the invader. And within the last twenty-four hours, the invader would have full control of the victim's mind, body, emotions, and actions. Once the seventy-two hours were up, the victim would cease to exist permanently and the invader would be mortal once again but scarred for life for becoming a murderer.

Victor was the first to speak once they were done reading. "Okay so I'm not the only one who sees it right? That book appearing out of nowhere after my dad attacks me, Lenny getting all mad about everything, his eyes turning the same color as my dads'. It all fits."

"You're right, Victor," said Lino.

"I can't believe Vince would do something so low," said Kathleen. "And to think we all used to be such great friends."

"I know, I'm as surprised as you are, Katie," Lino told his wife.

Kathleen looked as if she was on the brink of crying. "Lino, if we don't do something now, we may loose Lenny forever. We have to find him!"

"We will, Honey," Lino assured. "Don't you worry. Alright, so the book says that this mind-invading thing takes seventy-two hours. Simply put, three days. Let's try and remember, when did Lenny start acting like Vince?"

Everyone was silent as they searched their memories. At last Oscar remembered. "Oh, two nights ago while we were having our sleepover."

"Oh yeah," said Angie. "When you and I started arguing and he got mad at us and told us to stop."

"Told us? More like _screamed_ at us."

"What time was that at?" Lino asked.

"Uh, about eight thirty," said Victor.

"What time is it now?" Lino asked.

Kathleen checked her watch. "It's eleven thirty," she replied.

"Okay so Vince has been invading Lenny's mind for forty hours," said Angie. "That means we only have thirty-two hours left to stop him."

"Wow Ang, you're really good at math," said Oscar.

"So we've got thirty-two hours to find Lenny, an then think of a way to save his life," Lino explained.

"Do ya really think we can do it?" Oscar asked.

"We did it once before, we can do it again," said Lino.

"Yeah but last time was kinda different than this time," Angie pointed out. "Last time we knew where we were going and it only took us a few hours to find him. We have no idea where he is right now and it could take us days to find him let alone save his life. And we only have a day and a half."

Lino closed his eyes and lowered his head. He understood that Angie was right but there was nothing else they could do. "Then we'd better get going now," he said after about thirty seconds of silence.

"No Lino, you can't," said Kathleen.

Lino looked at her in shock. "What? Katie, our son is out there somewhere and he's in big trouble. We've gotta do this."

"I know," said Kathleen. "You're just not going without sleeping bags. You four have a long journey ahead of you, you'll need to get some rest at some point."

They all agreed that Kathleen was right. So Lino and the three kids grabbed some sleeping bags and prepared for their mission to find Lenny. Victor brought the book along with him just in case they should need it, which was likely.

Just before the four of them left, Lino bid his worried wife goodbye. "If he comes back, contact me as soon as you can," he told her.

"Be careful out there, Lino," she warned. "And keep an eye on the others."

"I will." The couple kissed each other goodbye. "We'll find him Katie, I promise."

As soon as the explorers had left the liner and were out in the wide-open water, Oscar got bored. Then he thought of a great way for them to pass the time. "Hey guys while we're lookin' for Lenny, why don't we sing a song so we don't get bored?"

Angie rolled her eyes. "What kind of song did you have in mind, Oscar?"

"Well since this may take a while, how 'bout one that doesn't have an endin'?"

"Excuse me?"

Immediately Oscar began singing, very badly by the way, "_Ninety-nine bottles of coral cola on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of coral cola! You take one down and pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of coral cola on the wall!_"

While Oscar continued his terrible singing, Victor began rereading "Mind Invasions for Dummies" hoping to find anything that might tell him how they could save Lenny's life.

"Why are you reading that again?" Lino asked him.

"I'm trying to see if the book says anything about an antidote," said Victor. "That way we can find out how to save Lenny."

"Good call," said Lino. "But you know what really doesn't make sense to me?"

"What?"

"How does Vince even know that Lenny's still alive?"

Victor went wide-eyed and almost dropped the book. "W-what do you mean, Lino?"

"Don't you remember what happened last time? Vince thought he killed Lenny but he really just knocked him out and then he swam away before Lenny woke up. So as far as Vince should be concerned, Lenny's dead. So how is it that he knows Lenny's alive?"

Now Victor knew he was in trouble. Without trying to sound nervous or guilty he thought of something to say to save his neck. "Uh, maybe he's been spying on you guys. I mean up 'til now we haven't seen or heard of him in over a month. He must've been hiding near where you live. That would explain it right?"

Lino looked at him suspiciously. "I suppose…"

Victor changed the subject at once. "Hey, uh, what the heck are we doing talking about my dad when we should be looking for Lenny? Why don't you look all around you and I'll keep looking for that antidote? Okay? Okay." With that Victor turned his attention back to the book continued to scan the pages. Lino wasn't buying what Victor had just told him. He was still hiding something, but Lino decided to take care of that later and keep looking for his son.

_End of chapter_


	11. Chapter 11: Memory Lane

_Weaknesses 11_

Lenny awoke but was still a little tired to open his eyes. His head was killing him. He must've hit it on the wall while he was asleep. Before breakfast, he'd have to find some aspirin. He sat up in his bed, rubbed his aching head, and stretched his half awake body.

"Okay, Lenny," he said sleepily to himself. "Time to get up and greet the…" Lenny opened his eyes and saw nothing in front of him but never ending blackness. "What the…?" He blinked repeatedly in hopes that his site would return to him any second, but still he saw nothing. "I'M BLIND!" he yelled in horror. "MOM! POP!"

When neither of his parents came, Lenny lifted his fins up to his face to try and rub the blindness out of his eyes. It was then he noticed that he in fact wasn't blind after all. Both of his fins were right there in front of his face, clear as crystal. He examined the rest of his body, which was all clearly visible to him. Then he looked all around again but still saw nothing.

Now he started to panic. "Okay so if I'm not blind, then what the heck is going on?!"

"I'd be more than satisfied to answer that, Lenny," said a voice that scared him half to death.

Lenny nervously skimmed his empty surroundings to seek the voice's owner. Seconds later, only inches in front of him, the tall, dark, and evil Vince magically appeared out of thin air wearing his infamous evil smile.

"No, not you. Anything but you," Lenny said looking up into Vince's devious eyes.

"What, Lenny?" said Vince. "I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings."

"What's going on? Where are we?"

"We're inside your mind, small fry. Of course soon, this'll be _my_ mind. Your body is lying helplessly in the middle of nowhere and you have no control of it whatsoever," Vince explained.

Lenny was so confused but proceeded to ask questions. "What do you want this time, Vince?"

"The same thing I wanted last time; revenge."

"On Pop again?" Lenny asked.

"Ding! We have a winner," said Vince. "But not just him. Lately I've had a second target."

Lenny thought for a moment and then came to a conclusion. "Victor?"

"Well aren't you just the sharpest tooth in the mouth?" Vince teased evilly.

Lenny became furious. "Vince, you are seriously messed up. First you abuse your own son and now you wanna get back at him for turning against you?"

Vince chuckled coldly. "Poor, naïve little Lenny. Put yourself in my place. If your own flesh and blood turned against you, wouldn't you feel betrayed? Humiliated? Enraged?"

Lenny knew what it was like to turn against a relative, but not the other way around. "Well it's not like Victor had a choice. From what he tells me, you've always treated him like garbage. My dad treats him more like a son than you ever did."

"Hmm," Vince thought. "That makes it even better. Instead of destroying my own son, I'll be destroying the "son" of my rival. This plan just keeps getting' better and better."

Lenny shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe you, Vince. You still want revenge on my dad for something that happened eleven years ago? Why can't you just let these things go?"

Vince looked him in the eye with an evil half smile. "I'll tell you why. Or better yet, _show_ you why."

"What the heck are you…"

Vince clapped his fins twice. Like smoke clearing from a room, the blackness surrounding them slowly vanished and was replaced by a different location.

Lenny looked around the new setting, which he knew all too well. "Pop's office?"

"As it was eleven years ago," said Vince.

"You mean we've gone back in time?"

"Pretty much," said Vince. "And there's the old man himself."

Sitting at the office desk was none other than a slightly younger version of Don Lino, with his eyes glued to a newspaper and looking like he was waiting for someone to come. Lenny darted towards the desk to warn his father of Vince's plot. "Pop!" he yelled. "Pop, it's me, Lenny! You've gotta get out of here, Vince is…" Lenny reached out his fin to touch Lino on his shoulder, but his fin unusually went right through him like a ghost. "What the heck?" Lenny asked examining his fin.

"He can't see or hear you, kid. All this is just an echo of the past," Vince explained, pointing towards the office's bar table. "And so are they."

Lenny looked in the bar's direction and saw three young boy sharks sitting together in some of the stools. The two younger ones were playing with action figures together, making fake weapon blasting sounds and talking through their little plastic toy sharks.

"Look familiar?" Vince asked him.

As Lenny got a closer look at the three kids, he realized that the smallest one was himself at age eight.

"You might as well give up now, Victor," young Lenny said to his playmate. "Your Captain Hammerhead doesn't stand a chance against my Admiral Tsunami."

"Come on, Lenny," Victor laughed. "Admiral Tsunami doesn't have x-ray vision, heat vision, or the power to read minds."

"Well Captain Hammerhead can't start an earthquake by slamming his tail onto the ocean floor," young Lenny retorted.

"Ugh, you two are such kids," said the oldest of the three, the sight of whom made nineteen-year-old Lenny want to cry. It was a much older kid of about thirteen. He looked very tough and was rugged for his young age. He had angry looking hazel eyes and was wearing a blank expression on his face. Covering his body were quite a few scars and scratches from fights with other sharks.

"Frankie," Lenny said sadly.

"Hurts, don't it?" Vince said insensitively.

"Why've you brought me here?" Lenny asked, now saddened by the sight of the echo of his late older brother.

Before Vince could answer, the office door opened and in came a younger version of Vince himself.

"You're about to find out," older Vince replied.

"Morning, Vince," Lino greeted younger Vince as he took a seat in front of his boss.

"I got your message, Boss," said younger Vince. "Did you wanna talk to me about somethin'?"

"Yeah I did. But first," Lino turned his attention to the three boys. "Boys, Vince and I need to have a word. Can you go play somewhere else?"

"Okay, Dad," said eight-year-old Lenny.

"Yes sir, Mr. Lino Sir," said Victor.

"Whatever," said Frankie.

Once the room was free of kids, Lino told younger Vince what he needed to. "Vince, I hate to say it but I got some bad news that involves you."

Younger Vince started to look nervous. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"

"No it's nothing you did specifically. It's just…" Lino held a fin to his forehead and sighed. "How do I put it?"

"Lino, if it's seriously important then just tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"Well," Lino began, "You know that new guy I just hired a few months ago? Luca?"

"The octopus?"

"Yeah that's him. I've noticed that he's a really good addition to the mob. He's a hard worker, he's obedient, and above all he's loyal."

Vince looked like he knew where Lino was going with this. "Yeah, I guess he is."

"So I had dinner with him the other night and told him how impressed I was with his skills. And then I… I offered him your spot as my right hand man."

Vince stared at Lino with a look of both shock and disappointment. "You what?"

"I'm sorry, Vince," said Lino. "But I'm gonna have to let you go."

"W-what do you mean let me go?"

"You're fired, Vince." Lino said this trying to sound as sympathetic as possible.

"Lino, I… I don't understand," said Vince. "I've been your right hand man for more than twenty years! I've done everything you ever told me to do! You tell me to jump, I say "how high?" And now some new guy comes along and you give him my job without even asking my opinion?"

Lino sighed. "Vince, I'm sorry but I think it's the right thing to do."

Vince angrily arose from his chair. "The right thing?! Lino, we've been best friends through thick and thin since we met in college! Don't you remember? When you graduated, you took over your family's business and asked me to drop out of school and join your mob! I was only a freshman, Lino!"

"I know, but…"

"But what?" Vince interrupted. "That ain't good enough for you? How 'bout the fact that I was there for you when you got married, when you had your kids, and I saved your neck when Don Carmine had you on death row. I gave you the best years of my life, and now you wanna get rid of me?"

"Vince, please just try to understand."

"So when you said that I'd always be on your right side, you were just kiddin' around?" Vince asked.

"I thought you _would_ always be on my right side."

"That isn't the answer! If ya want me outta your life forever, why don't ya just say it?" Vince turned and swam to the door.

"Vince, that's not what I want," Lino tried to convince him.

"Too bad! That's what you're gonna get!" Vince threw the door open and swam out into the hallway. "So much for friendship! I'm takin' my family and gettin' outta this dump for good!" And with that, he instantly vanished from Lino's site.

Lino was left alone in his office. He sighed to himself and held his fins to his eyes in a regretful manner.

"Alright, enough of that," older Vince said to Lenny. With another clap of his fins, the echo of Lino's office was replaced by the same blackness that had surrounded them before. "Did you see the look on his face?" Vince asked. "If you think he regretted firin' me then, just wait 'til I'm done with you."

"Done with me?" Lenny asked curiously. "You were the reason I was always getting mad at everyone yesterday?"

"You sure do catch on quick," Vince replied. "And technically that wasn't you at all. I was in total control of your emotions. You only thought it was you getting mad, and so did your friends and family. And now my mind invading process is getting more and more complete. You have no control of your emotions or mind at all and you're taking my physical appearance."

"About that," said Lenny. "How in the heck did you learn how to invade my mind?"

"Simple," said Vince. "After Victor turned against me and joined your old man, I wanted to get back at both of 'em. So I swam away to the outskirts of the North Reef and happened to have met a fortuneteller who lived and worked alone in a sunken old rowboat. She said her goal in life was to grant people their heart's desires. Without sayin' any names, I told her that my heart's biggest desire was revenge. She told me that the only thing I had to do was to find the weakness of those who I wanted to get back at and then to use it against 'em. Then I realized that that weakness was you."

"Me?" Lenny asked.

"Yes you. After all you're Lino's kid and Victor's best friend. With you gone, they'd both be nothing. But then I remembered you were dead, or at least I thought you were. Just in case you were still alive, she gave me a book called "Mind Invasions For Dummies". I didn't know what I'd do with it or how it'd work, but I took it anyway. I read the book from start to finish and learned that invading your mind would kill you if I succeeded. It was perfect."

There was still one thing Lenny wanted to know. "But how did you find out I was alive?"

"Oh, from Victor."

Lenny gasped silently. "What? Victor told you? I can't believe it."

"Oh don't be so stupid. Of course he didn't do it on purpose, he's too sweet and innocent. I fooled him into tellin' me. Then it was clear to me that my plan would be a success."

"What's gonna happen?" Lenny asked, even though he was afraid to find out.

"This process takes three days. Two of which have already passed. By this time tomorrow, you'll be history. After Victor told me you were alive and after I knocked him out, I accidentally left the book there with him. By now they probably know what I'm up to. And earlier today I almost blew my secret by letting Lino look me in the eye. I knew I had to escape to a place that'd take them ages to get to in order to buy me more time. And here we are, in the middle of nowhere. I got here in just a few hours but the average person who's not in control of someone else's mind would get here in probably two days. I'm pretty good, huh?"

Lenny shook his head. "Vince, the last word that would ever describe you is good. And since Pop and Victor know about our plan, they're gonna find out how to stop it and you'll be the one who's history."

"Oh I get so sick of you tryin' to rain on my parade." Vince clapped his fins three times and suddenly a horribly painful sensation hit Lenny's entire body.

Lenny screamed in pain at the top of his lungs. It felt as if a long and powerful bolt of lightning was striking him and wouldn't stop. Vince watched him suffer and laughed a horrible, loud cackle that hurt Lenny's ears and added to the intense pain he was feeling. After about forty-five seconds, the painful sensation ended and Lenny fell to the ground unable to move let alone feel any part of his body.

Vince stood over him and looked straight down into his eyes. "There. Now that you're good and paralyzed, I don't have to tolerate any more of your whinin'. You're just gonna lye here helplessly and wait for your end to come. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta mind to take over." Then he vanished into thin air, leaving Lenny all alone for good.

Poor Lenny lye miserably on the ground of the inside of his mind, paralyzed from head to tail, concerned about his dad and Victor, and unable to control his actions. Although he couldn't move his face, a small tear fell from his eye. This must've been how it was going to end for him.

_End of chapter_


	12. Chapter 12: The Last Confession

_Weaknesses 12_

Night came. Lino, Victor, Angie, and Oscar had spent more than half the day following the trail of bubbles Lino recalled Lenny leaving behind as he stormed off that morning. They had searched high and low, near and far for what felt like forever but still got no closer to finding Lenny. Not much had changed since the search had started. Victor had reread "Mind Invasions For Dummies" at least ten times trying to find an antidote for Lenny. Oscar was still "singing" his never-ending song to pass the time (by now he was down to twenty-two bottles of Coral Cola). And all four of them were still keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Lenny.

It was around ten o'clock when everyone started to get restless. Victor's eyes were stinging from skimming through the book over and over again, Oscar was (finally) losing interest in his song and had pointed this out by apparently losing count of the bottles, and not one of the four of them could swim anymore. They all decided it was best to turn in for the night and find Lenny tomorrow. So they unfolded their sleeping bags and arranged them in a circle on the ground. In the middle of which they piled up their lit flashlights to illuminate the dark night, which they considered a "campfire" since they couldn't have a real one for obvious reasons.

For quite a few minutes, each of them sat on their sleeping bags and stared at the magnificent light of the four flashlights without saying a word. They were far too worried about Lenny to have a conversation about anything.

Once again, Oscar became bored by the dead silence. "Wow this really reminds me of my childhood, when my dad used to take me camping every summer," he said trying to lift everyone else's spirits. "Hey guys, I have another great idea. Let's all make s'mores and tell some ghost stories before we go to sleep!"

Lino and Victor responded to this by glaring at him rather than with words.

"Oscar," said Angie, "This is a rescue mission, _not_ sleep away camp."

Then Oscar became more serious about the matter. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to make everyone feel better."

Angie placed a fin on his back. "That's sweet of you, Oscar. But I really don't think it's gonna work. Lenny's in big trouble and it may be getting worse by the second."

"Angie's right," said Victor. "We've been looking for him for hours and we're running out of time. If we don't find him and save him by tomorrow night, he's done for."

"Well Victor, your eyes have been glued to that book since we started," said Lino. "Have you found anything that says how we can save him?"

Victor sighed. "Barely. This book isn't really specific about antidotes."

"But you've read it at least a hundred times. You must've found something helpful."

Victor opened the book to the very last page. "All it says is that the victim of the mind invading process can only be saved if he's able to regain control of his mind."

"That's all?" Angie asked. "It doesn't say how he'll be able to regain control?"

Victor shook his head. "No."

Angie scoffed. "Well that's not very helpful."

"Obviously this book wasn't supposed to be read by people who are on the victim's side," said Oscar.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Angie asked.

"Now we get some sleep," Lino replied. "Hopefully we'll be able to think of a solution in the morning."

Oscar and Angie yawned in agreement and tiredly jumped into their sleeping bags. It took only a few seconds for both of them to fall asleep. While Victor unzipped his own sleeping bag, he looked at Lino and noticed that he wasn't preparing for bed. He was just sitting on his sleeping bag and staring at the crescent-shaped moon above the calm surface looking melancholy.

"Lino?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lino replied. "It's just… this kinda brings back memories for me too."

"Really?"

Lino nodded. "I used to take Frankie and Lenny camping every summer when they were little kids. Lenny always loved to watch the moon and try to count all the stars. I wish I could go back to those days. Back to when I never thought I'd lose them both."

Hearing this made Victor truly feel for Lino. "I'm sorry," he said affectionately.

"It's okay, Victor. But if anything happens to Lenny, I'll never forgive myself."

This surprised Victor. "What? You're blaming yourself for this?"

"Well yeah," said Lino. "If I hadn't fired Vince all those years ago, he wouldn't be getting back at me by doing God knows what to my only living kid."

"No, Lino. You did the right thing by firing him. Trust me, if anyone's to blame for this it's me…" Victor nervously covered his mouth with his fin.

Lino looked at him. "What?"

"Uh, nothing. I didn't… I mean… Oh let's just forget I said anything and get a good night's sleep." Victor tried to circumvent telling Lino anymore by excusing himself to bed, but Lino wasn't buying it.

"Victor?" Victor looked up from his sleeping bag and nervously at Lino. "Something's bothering you and I wanna know what it is."

Victor's heart began beating so fast that he could actually hear it in his ears. "I... I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Victor lowered his head and shut his eyes. "Because you'll hate me if I do," he said sadly.

"Victor," Lino lifted Victor's chin so that they could see face to face. "Please tell me what's wrong," Lino said sounding so much like he was Victor's father.

Victor couldn't hold back anymore. It was time he told Lino what he'd been aching to tell him since the very first day. "You promise you won't hate me?" he asked.

"I promise."

He inhaled deeply as he prepared to make his final confession. "Okay. I know how my dad found out that Lenny was still alive." Lino said nothing so Victor kept speaking. "I told him."

Almost a quarter of a minute passed before Victor finally gathered the courage to look Lino in the eye. The look on Lino's face was a combination of both shock and sadness (the same look he gave Lenny in the movie when he saw him dressed up like a dolphin). "W-what?" he stuttered.

Victor began to panic as tears formed in his eyes. "Lino, I swear I didn't mean to. He tricked me into telling. Please believe me, I'd never want Lenny to get hurt. Please Lino, forgive me." Victor had become hysterical. He held his fins to his tearful eyes and sobbed pitifully.

Lino calmly threw his fin around Victor's shoulders. "Victor, take it easy."

"I can't!" Victor cried. "I did something horrible! Lenny could be dead this time tomorrow because of me!"

"Victor, it's not your fault," Lino said softly.

"I feel so bad about this all the time!"

Lino slightly stretched out his fins. "Come here."

Victor threw himself into Lino's embrace and cried hysterically on his shoulder. Lino patted him on the back in a comforting manner. Clearly he wasn't mad about Victor's mistake but Victor was still upset with himself. "I'm sorry," he cried.

"Shh, it's alright," said Lino. "Settle down."

So Victor did, ever so slowly. Lino continued to comfort him as long as he needed it. This made Victor feel that Lino truly was his father, which made him feel somewhat better knowing he finally had a shoulder to cry on. Soon Victor felt more relaxed and pulled away from Lino sniffling.

"Feel better?" Lino asked.

Victor nodded and rubbed his red eyes. "So you don't hate me?" he asked quietly.

"Victor, I would never hate you," Lino assured. "I care about you like you were my own kid. I just wish you would've told me sooner."

"I wanted to so many times, but I was scared that you wouldn't believe me if I told you it was an accident."

Lino placed his fins on Victor's shoulders. "Victor, I would believe anything you told me. You're not a liar and you're not a bad person, so I trust you. You've gotta believe that."

"Thanks Lino," said Victor. "But I sure did feel like a bad person after I told my dad about Lenny. And I felt so stupid for being fooled by his trick to get me to tell. I felt like I had become exactly like him."

"Listen to me," said Lino. "Him tricking you doesn't make you stupid. The smartest person in the world could've been fooled by a trick like that. He's the stupid one. You're not like him, Victor. You're a smart, honest, and good person. You take after your mother."

Victor smiled weakly. "I do?"

Lino smiled back and nodded. "You know? She'd be really proud of you for confessing to me what you did."

"You're right," Victor agreed.

"Just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"If you ever have something important to tell someone, then tell them. And don't suspect they'll think badly of you if you tell them you made a mistake. You promise?"

"I promise."

Lino patted Victor on the shoulder. "Good boy."

Then Victor looked worried again. "But what about Lenny? What if my dad's plan is a success and Lenny dies?"

"Victor, if that happens I won't put the blame on you. Vince is the one that's gonna need to be sorry, for taking away one of the most important people in my life."

"You really care about Lenny don't you?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, I do," said Lino. "Especially right now. I lost him once for being a lousy parent, and I almost lost him again thinking I was protecting him. If we let this happen, I don't know what I'll do."

Victor saw the sorrow in Lino's eyes and wanted to assure him all would be fine. "Don't worry, Lino. He'll be alright. We'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Victor. Now let's get some sleep. We're gonna have to wake up early if we're gonna find Lenny before time runs out."

So the two of them turned off all their flashlights, got into their sleeping bags and rested their backs against the smooth ground. Victor actually felt a whole lot better after making his last confession, but there was just one more thing he wanted to tell Lino. "Hey Lino?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks so much, for everything."

The sharks smiled at each other then rolled over onto their sides and peacefully closed their tired blue eyes. That would've been a serene moment for all of them but then right out of nowhere Oscar, who had just randomly woken up, started singing his ridiculous song again.

"Twenty-one bottles of coral cola on the wall, twenty-one bottles of…"

"SHUT UP!" Lino, Victor, and Angie yelled simultaneously. Angie was so disgusted that she threw her pillow right at Oscar's face.

"Sorry."

_End of chapter_


	13. Chapter 13: What made Lenny strong

_Chapter 13_

Lenny didn't know what time it was, or what day it was. He didn't know if his friends and family were looking for him, or if they even knew his mind was being invaded. All he knew was that he was getting closer to death by the second. He was now powerless against Vince. No control of his body or his mind. He was trapped in the blackness of his subconscious, weak and paralyzed. He knew there was no hope left. The only thing that could save him from Vince now was a miracle.

Vince, completely in control of Lenny's mind, sat beside a large boulder in the middle of an empty field eagerly awaiting the death of Lenny. Looking up at the moon above him, he could tell time was drawing nigh. It was the third night of the mind invading process and it was about twenty past eight. Lenny only had ten short minutes to live, and when Lino and Victor found out, they'd be all his (Vince's) to deal with. He chuckled evilly to himself knowing, but certainly not caring, that he had ruined three lives in just a few days. Since this was such a special occasion, he figured he might as well let the little runt know how much longer he had. He clapped his fins together and entered Lenny's subconscious.

Looking down into the eyes of the offspring of his mortal enemy, he said, "Hey, half-pint. Just thought I'd let ya know the process is almost _finito_. You only got ten more minutes to live, so you might wanna say your prayers."

Lenny was unable to reply. Vince knew this but forced him to try to talk anyway. "Aw, what's a matter?" he teased cruelly. "Catfish got your tongue?" He clapped his fins once more. Lenny was lifted into the air and blasted with the same painful sensation as before. But this time it was far worse. He shut his eyes and howled in pain. Finally it stopped.

"Now you feel like answering me?" Vince demanded.

Lenny still couldn't reply.

"NO?" Vince blasted Lenny again, but for a longer time.

"How 'bout NOW?"

Still Lenny was unable to speak. For the next few minutes, Vince tortured him with his treacherous blasts and demanded an answer. By the time he'd decided to stop, Lenny was lying on his front crying both from pain and the desire to go home.

"Aw, poor little baby," said Vince. "Did I hurt you? Well you'll be feelin' a lot worse in about…"

Suddenly they heard voices calling Vince's name from a distance. "Vince? VINCE?" The voices sounded panicked and furious. Both Lenny and Vince knew who it was instantly.

"Ah come on!" said Vince. "Every time my plans are about to turn out perfectly, they gotta butt in and try and save the day!" Then he calmed himself. "But that ain't gonna happen this time. My plan's too far along for them to do anything. So I think I'll just go get rid of 'em right now. So long, pipsqueak." He clapped his fins again and vanished, once more leaving Lenny alone to die.

"_So this is how it's gonna end," _Lenny thought to himself._ "My favorite people in the world are in trouble. _I'm_ in trouble. And I can't do anything about it." _There was nothing more he could do but lye there and literally cry himself to death.

Meanwhile, our four heroes were frantically calling out Vince's name, even though they were unknowingly right on top of him. As they approached the boulder behind which Vince was hiding, Victor started to give up hope.

"I don't like this, you guys. We're seriously running out of time and it's obvious that my dad and Lenny aren't here."

"Victor, don't give up hope," Angie assured. "We'll find them in time."

"We won't if you stop calling Vince's name," Lino panicked. "Now let's keep it up. VIN… AH!"

All four of them let out a small scream when Vince suddenly came out of hiding and quickly swam right in front of them. He was quite a horrid site. Other than his blackish brown eyes and dangerously sharp teeth, he looked just like Lenny.

"Uh, I think we found him," said Oscar. Angie glared at him and then they both looked back at their enemy.

"Well look who's here," said Vince. "You're just in time to watch my brilliant plan actually succeed."

Lino snarled. "I'm warning you, Vince. Get outta my kid's body or I'll strangle you with my bare fins."

Vince raised an eyebrow. "Yeah sorry, but either way that ain't gonna happen. Firstly, 'cause there's only five more minutes left for the process to be finished so I'm afraid there's no turning back now. Had you figured out my plan two days ago, I probably would've put an end to this. But since it only took you 'til yesterday and I was able to get as far away from you as possible to buy myself time, you're outta luck and time. Secondly, in case you haven't noticed, Lenny and I are basically in the same body. So if you hurt me, you're also hurting your son. And that'd put you in the slammer for child abuse."

"Don't talk to me about child abuse, Vince! Especially not after what you did to Victor!"

"Oh please, he was beggin' for it. Are you aware that he, with absolutely no regard or the feelings of others, told me that Lenny was alive so that I could actually get back at you again?"

"You liar!" Victor bellowed. "You tricked me into telling and you know it!"

Angie shook her head in disgust. "So let's narrow it down," she said to Vince. "You're a liar, an abusive parent, a revenge worshiper, and a… a…"

"And a wife killer!" Oscar finished.

"Yeah, that too!"

Lino angrily cracked his knuckles. "Vince, it'll give me great pleasure to force you out of my son and then rip you fin from fin."

"Alright, fine then," said Vince. "Go ahead and kill me. Lord knows I deserve it. But first, there's something I've always wanted to do."

Vince's evil eyes instantly shot in Victor's direction. Barely half a second later, both he and Lino threw themselves at Victor; Vince in attempt to attack him and Lino in attempt to get him out of the way. Miraculously Lino was faster and was able to get both himself and Victor to safety. Vince, just barely missing Lino's tailfin, fell to the sandy ground face first and a cloud of dust and sea salt formed around all of them. In the confusion, Lino, Victor, Angie, and Oscar darted over to the boulder and hid behind it while Vince slowly pushed himself off the ground and brushed sand off Lenny's body.

"Alright then, have it your way," he called to his foes. "You all enjoy each other's company while you can, I got nowhere else to go tonight. But if you wanna remember what your little Lenny looks like, you'd better come out and get a good look at me 'cause he'll be dead in about three minutes."

They'd heard Vince from behind the rock but were too panicked to actually listen to him.

"Thanks, Lino," Victor said breathlessly. "You saved my life."

"Thank me later," Lino replied. "Right now we've gotta think of something fast."

"What can we do?" Angie asked quietly. "You heard what Vince said, he and Lenny are both inside the same body. That means we can't hurt him without hurting Lenny."

"Yeah," said Oscar. "And it also means that it's not just Vince, but our best friend who's trying to attack us too. I mean Lenny may be dying but right now he's still alive and he's in that body somewhere. Creepy. I wish there was some way we could go in there and find him so we could get Vince out of his body."

Everyone else thought Oscar's statement was a waste of precious time, but it got Victor thinking very hard. And then it occurred to him. With Oscar's help, he was able to think of the antidote to saving Lenny.

"That's it!" he said happily. "Oscar, you're a genius."

Oscar smiled. "I am?"

"He is?" Lino and Angie asked simultaneously.

"Don't you guys get it?" Victor asked. "The book says the only way to save Lenny is for him to regain control of his mind and Lenny really is in there somewhere, and he's not dead yet. I know what we need to do. We need to mentally bring Lenny back out by reminding him that he's stronger than my dad."

"How are we gonna do that?" Angie asked.

"Well, my dad hates us and that's what makes him weak. But to Lenny, we're the best people in the world so we're what makes him strong. Love is stronger than hate, and Lenny's heart is full of love. So all we have to do is remind Lenny how much he loves us and his love will make him strong again."

Lino's face suddenly brightened. "Victor, you're the best of the best."

"Thanks."

"One minute left!" Vince called to them.

"Oh man, we'd better think of a way to remind Lenny of his love for us quickly," said Victor.

Lino placed a fin on Victor's shoulder. "I know what to do, leave everything to me." Victor nodded and Lino bravely went out of hiding to face Vince.

Victor, Oscar, and Angie peaked their heads out from behind the boulder to see what was going to happen.

"About time you decided to take one last look at your little runt, Lino," said Vince. "Go ahead and get a really good look before time runs out."

Lino slowly swam closer to Vince. "Actually there's something else I need to do."

"Oh yeah?" Vince asked. "Well do it quickly and then… HEY!" Lino hugged Vince tightly and hoped his son would sense it. Vince struggled to break free from the embrace. "What in the halibut are you doing, old man? Lemme go!"

Meanwhile, all was going according to Victor's plan. Lenny, from inside his subconscious, stopped crying when he unexpectedly began to get the feeling back in his body. Then he could actually feel the warm, familiar embrace that could only be his dad's. Before long, the endless blackness around him vanished like smoke and was replaced by an empty field of sand and water. He didn't know exactly where he was, but he did know that he was with Lino again.

"P–Pop?" he asked weakly. But before he could get too comfortable, he was suddenly trapped in his subconscious again and struck by another of Vince's blasts.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Vince's voice yelled to him. "THIS MIND IS MINE NOW! YOU'RE WEAK, LENNY! WEAK!"

The painful blasts and scolding voice were strong, but Lino's love was stronger. Moments later, Lenny was back in Lino's embrace and refused to go back to being controlled by Vince. Oh the sweet memories that this hug was bringing back to him.

"_Come here, you. I love you, son, no matter what you eat, or how you dress."_

Lenny remembered that moment as if it had only happened yesterday. He tiredly opened his stinging eyes and saw Victor, Oscar, and Angie coming out from behind the boulder they were using for shelter. Upon seeing their faces, Lenny was reminded of the happy memories he'd had with each of them.

"_High fin, low fin! HA HA!" _

"_I don't know, I like her." "Thanks, I like you too." _

"_I'm really sorry you've had it so rough, Victor." "It's okay, Lenny. But it's so weird. I feel like I don't have anybody in the world." "You've got me." "And me." "And me." _

All these memories had set Lenny free from the wrath of Vince's plot. Still sensing Vince in his mind, he spoke. "You're the weak one, Vince. You don't know anything about love or friendship. Your hatred for others has ruined your life, and I feel sorry for you."

As he spoke, Lenny's body gave off a spectacular glowing light, as if he were an angle from Heaven above. Lino, slightly afraid, released Lenny and the four heroes watched as the mysterious light gracefully exiled Lenny's body. In a matter of seconds, the light dimmed slightly to reveal the transparent, ghostly form of a shark. Clearly this was all that remained of Vince as his body had ceased to exist days ago. The ghostly shark outstretched its' fins and screamed at the top of its' voice "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" With a loud, blinding explosion, what was left of Vince was now gone forever.

When the light had finally dimmed completely, Lenny was gently lowered to the ground on his front. His four friends and loved ones looked at each other unaware if he was still alive or not. Lino approached Lenny very slowly, bent down and turned him over on his back. Victor, Angie, and Oscar all gathered round to get a better look and waited for something to happen.

Lenny inhaled deeply and opened his eyes, which to everyone's relief were back to their old, cheerful shade of green. He looked up at Lino, who gave him the smallest smile imaginable. Lenny wanted so much to smile back, but after everything Vince had put him through he just couldn't find it in his heart to even pretend to smile. All he could do was huddle up against Lino's shoulder and sob silently. Lino wrapped his fins around his poor son and Victor, Angie, and Oscar joined in.

The battle may have been won, but the second challenge was only beginning.

_End of chapter_


	14. Chapter 14: Depression

_Chapter 14_

After a tearful and melancholy reunion, it was time to get Lenny back home where he belonged. Lenny was still in shock and was far too tired to swim on his own. So Lino lifted him up and helped him swim for the rest of the night. The swim home would be a long one as it was and Lenny barely being able to swim slowed them down and made the swim seem even longer. But they understood that he'd been through much the past few days so they were patient with him, even Oscar.

As the sun rose the next morning Lenny's friends could finally get a decent look at him. Truth be told, they weren't sure they really wanted to. Lenny was not a pleasant sight by any means. He was pale as a ghost with dark circles around his bloodshot eyes. On top of that, the expression on his face was gloomy and miserable. The bubbliest person in the world could take one look at him and their eyes would fill with sad tears.

The others resisted looking at or talking to him unless he needed something. It was clear to them that he didn't want to tell them about what Vince had done to him. Whatever was going on in Lenny's head had gotten them all wondering so hard that they couldn't even talk to each other. None of them had said a word all morning. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of water quietly sweeping past their tailfins as they swam home. Going about as fast as senile sea turtles, they could tell the journey home would be a lot longer than the journey they'd had searching for Lenny. It was especially unpleasant for Lino, who was having a difficult time carrying his sleeping bag in one fin and his fully-grown teenaged son in the other.

Nonetheless, the most crestfallen of them all was Lenny. He had just been saved from being killed by a shark lower than dirt or mud. But in spite of this, he was still miserable. In his mind he was being haunted by the memory of Vince physically torturing him. And the thought of Vince actually being cruel enough to watch and laugh while his fellow creature was painfully screaming at the top of his lungs made him shiver.

At about nine o'clock, these memories had haunted Lenny so much that he just had to stop and cry.

"Hey Pop," he said weakly. After going a whole morning without hearing or saying a thing, hearing Lenny's voice was a shock to everyone. Immediately they stopped swimming and shot their attention to him.

"What is it, Son?" Lino asked.

"I… I need to stop for a minute."

"Are you okay?"

Lenny tried to hide his tears or just a few more seconds. "Yeah, I'm… I just… I need to…" He had easily lost the battle between himself and those awful memories. Unable to hold back tears any longer, he huddled up against Lino's shoulder and wept silently. This was a touching moment to everyone, but certainly not in a good way. It was then they realized that Vince had truly wounded their friend.

Lino turned to the other three. "Give us a moment?" he asked quietly.

"Of course," said Victor. He and the two fish swam a few yards away and then turned their backs to give the father and son some privacy.

Once the two were alone, Lino did his best to comfort Lenny by soothingly rubbing his back. Although well meaning, this attempt failed. Poor Lenny just couldn't stop thinking about Vince's attempt to kill him and his loved ones.

After a few seconds Lino, clearly not being a mind reader, asked, "You wanna talk about it now?"

Refusing to lift his head from Lino's shoulder, Lenny weakly replied, "No."

"I won't make you then," Lino said sympathetically.

"Pop?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't remember everything that happened but I swear I didn't mean to do any of it. I didn't mean to get mad at everyone, and I didn't mean to scream at you, and I didn't mean to do whatever else Vince made me do. I'm sorry, Pop."

"I know you didn't mean any of it," said Lino. "But it's alright now. Vince is gone forever."

Lenny sniffed once. "He really hurt me, Pop. And he didn't even care. He just laughed. He was actually getting pleasure out of torturing me."

"Sounds familiar," said Lino. "I've had to deal with guys like that for half my life. They've threatened to kill me and sometimes even you or your mother and they never cared even once."

"Really?" Lenny asked sadly.

"Yup. People have threatened to hurt you for years but none of them came anywhere near as close as this."

"I had no idea."

"What?"

"That people could be so heartless," Lenny replied tearfully.

Lino didn't know what to say. He knew Lenny was right of course. People really could be heartless, no question of it. Since the day Lenny was born Lino had done his best to protect him from people like that, but alas he didn't always succeed. This was one of those times.

"I can't do this anymore, Pop," said Lenny.

"What are you talking about?" Lino asked. "What can't you do?"

"I can't trust people anymore."

Hearing this tore at Lino's heart. Lenny had always been the one who'd give people a chance. He'd always been the social, happy, and slightly naïve little tike who hated to be alone and would be willing to make friends with anybody. Lino could still remember playing with Lenny when he had the day off from work. He remembered Lenny used to giggle endlessly and had the hardest time trying to hold still. He even remembered Kathleen constantly reprimanding him for letting Lenny have too many sweets (Lino was the type of father that could not say no to little kids). Looking back, Lino couldn't believe that the playful bundle of joy he used to know was now the exhausted, depressed, traumatized, physically weak, and mentally wounded teenager he was holding in his fins.

"You can trust me," he said to Lenny. "And your mother, and your friends. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I can't trust anyone else."

Seeing his son like this was too much for Lino. He decided it was time for them both to have a break. "Hey," he said to Lenny. "I'm gonna go talk to Victor for a minute, okay?"

Lenny finally lifted his head and nodded in reply.

Lino unrolled his sleeping bag and placed it on the ground for Lenny to sleep on. "Just stay here and rest for a moment," he said to Lenny. "I won't be long."

"Okay," Lenny yawned.

Once Lenny had dozed off on his dad's sleeping bag, Lino swam over to where Victor, Angie, and Oscar had been pretending to talk amongst themselves.

"So how's he doing?" Victor asked.

Lino figured he might as well tell them the truth. "Not good at all. I've never seen him look worse," he sighed.

"What's wrong with him?" Angie asked.

"It'd be easier to tell you what's _not_ wrong with him," Lino replied. "He can barely move, he won't stop crying, and he… he feels like he can't trust anyone anymore."

"Oh man," said Oscar. "I don't know what Vince did to him but it sounds like he did it pretty badly."

"Lenny won't tell me what he did," Lino continued. "All I now is that he hurt him and laughed about it."

Oscar and Angie gasped, but Victor didn't seem to be surprised. "Been there, done that," he said with his fins folded. "Before I zoned out after he gave me that shiner, I could've sworn I heard him laughing like a maniac. When I woke up I kinda felt the way Lenny does right now, but not quite as bad as that."

"How do you mean?" Lino asked.

"I felt like I couldn't trust anyone either. And then you invited me into your home and I remembered that there were still some good people in the world."

Lino smiled and then the four of them quietly approached their sleeping friend.

"He sure is sleeping hard," said Angie.

"No kidding," said Oscar. "After everything he's been through I bet he could sleep through a tsunami."

Lino affectionately stroked Lenny's head.

"We better wake him soon," Victor asked. "We still gotta long way to go."

Lino shook his head. "Nah, we should let him sleep a little longer."

The others all decided that Lino was right. Lenny looked incredibly peaceful. If one didn't know better they'd think he was dead. His face was free of any expression and his darkened eyes were refreshingly soaking up some well-needed sleep. Waking him up would probably be a fate worse than death.

"Hey Lino?" Victor said. "When we get back, maybe you should have him see a doctor."

Lino wanted to ask him why but then he took another look at his depressed son. He nodded in agreement. "You're right. And I know just the guy to see."

_End of Chapter_

_Sorry if it's not very long… or exciting. Anyway this is NOT the last chapter. The next one will be. I'll have it up as soon as I can. _


	15. Chapter 15: A Friend's Advice

_Final Chapter_

The exhausted group got Lenny home by twilight of the next day. Kathleen, who had been waiting day and night all week for their return, almost had a mental breakdown when she saw the condition her son was in. Okay technically she _did_ have a mental breakdown. She took one look at Lenny and forced him from Lino's grip, almost knocking Lino to the floor. She then took Lenny in her fins and practically squeezed the life out of him as she wept openly. But Lenny didn't care. He was still too tired and depressed to mind his mother's tight grip. Plus it reminded him that he could actually feel his body again.

Oscar and Angie bid everyone goodbye, gave Lenny their best wishes, and then went home for the night. Victor, who had also become exhausted after a seemingly endless swim, also decided to turn in.

While Kathleen helped Lenny to his bedroom to put him to sleep, Lino went straight to his office to make an urgent phone call to his friend and former employee, Rex. Rex was a well-mannered great white and was one of the first sharks to ever join Lino's mob, having only joined the very day Lino took over the business. After only three years of working for Lino he'd decided to resign and live a more suitable life as a doctor, which was exactly why Lino needed to talk to him at that moment.

He dialed Rex's home number and to his relief Rex answered. After saying hello and asking how life was going, Lino decided to cut to the chase. "Listen Rex, you remember my son Lenny right?"

"Of course I remember Lenny," Rex's deep voice replied. "He was the one that had the measles."

"Right," said Lino. "Well it's kinda hard to explain but he had an accident a few days ago and he's really not doing well. This probably sounds sudden but I know I can trust you so I was wondering if you could…"

"Say no more, Lino," said Rex. "I'll come by tomorrow morning to take a look at him."

"Thanks, Rex. I knew I could count on you."

Rex came by at half past nine the next morning. Before he was ready to start his examination, Lino and Kathleen informed Lenny of his presence and his purpose for coming. Lenny, still unable to trust people, felt intimidated about being inspected by a shark he hardly knew and who he hadn't seen since he had the measles, during which time he was only seven years old. Lino and Kathleen convinced him there was nothing to be afraid of and that Rex wasn't going to hurt him. As they left the room, Rex went inside to begin the checkup.

For twenty minutes or so Lino and Kathleen waited quietly and impatiently at Lenny's door. All that could be heard was Lenny and Rex having a muffled conversation. Rex appeared to be doing most of the talking. Presumably Lenny was still in shock and Rex was hinting to him that he wanted to know exactly what'd he'd been through. They couldn't make out what the conversation was about but as long as Lenny trusted Rex, and it sounded like he did, then all would be fine.

Rex finally came out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

Lino immediately asked, "What do you think, Rex?"

Removing his stethoscope from his ears, Rex replied, "I think your son is lucky to be alive."

"Is he doing okay?" Kathleen asked hopefully.

"Well his physical condition's healthy and he doesn't seem to have any brain damage. He's only suffering from shock and exhaustion. And that's normal for a situation like this, but I suggest making sure he gets plenty of rest for at least two weeks."

"I'll make sure of that," said Kathleen.

"Oh no," Lino said quietly.

Kathleen ignored him. "I'll go get some sleeping pills. Lord knows he's gonna need them."

"Kathleen, I really don't think…"

Kathleen swam off before Lino could finish the sentence.

Lino sighed. "He's not gonna need any pills," he told Rex. "He was sleeping like a pup the other day. Besides, Kathleen's sleeping pills will just make him feel worse."

"Well based on everything he just told me, I doubt that's even possible," Rex replied.

Lino suddenly became a little more serious. "What'd he tell you?"

"Pretty much everything, Lino. How he started off with anger issues, and how Vince physically hurt him and paralyzed his entire body. And it wasn't easy to get him to talk either. Sounds like it was all too much for him to handle."

Lino looked down at the floor. "Why wouldn't he tell me about how Vince hurt him?"

"Maybe 'cause you're not the one who spent five years in medical school learning about how the body works and how to use that knowledge in the real world," Rex teased. Both sharks chuckled.

"I'm worried about him, Rex," Lino said sadly. "I feel like I can never turn my back without him getting hurt. He's really been through a lot lately. And this is worse than anything else that's happened to him."

Rex placed a caring fin on his old friend's shoulder. "He'll be fine, Lino, trust me. Believe it or not, this little mind-controlling thing isn't that rare. As a doctor, I've had other patients who have miraculously survived it."

"You've seen this before?" Lino asked.

"Eight times," Rex replied. "To this day they're still haunted by the memories of being tortured. Regardless, they're the lucky ones. They're the ones who live to tell about it. I'm telling you this mind-controlling process is dirty stuff. It's taken the lives of least fifty others."

"No kidding?"

"Nope. So I'd figure you'd be relieved that Lenny's a survivor."

"I am relieved," said Lino. "I just can't believe I ever trusted Vince. We used to be best friends in college and then just 'cause I replace him he becomes a killer."

"Well honestly, I can't say I'm surprised," said Rex. "To tell you the truth I never did trust him. The minute I first met him I knew there was some sort of evil inside him just waiting to come out."

Lino smiled. "That's what I love about you, Rex. You were always the one who could see through people."

Rex laughed. "You're very observant, Lino. Is there anything else you need to know or anything I can help you with?"

Lino's smile faded. "Actually yeah there is. About Lenny, what's really worrying me is this depression of his. Is this normal for his situation?"

Rex nodded. "Oh yeah, it's normal. I've seen it happen in the other survivors. But I'm afraid there's nothing I can really do about it. He'll be back to his old self soon, Lino. Just give him time."

"Thanks, Rex," said Lino. "Anything else?"

"Just make sure he gets plenty of sleep." Rex leaned a little bit closer to Lino and looked him directly in the eye. "And might I suggest the same for you? You're looking pretty tired yourself."

"I am," Lino yawned. "I had to carry Lenny all the way home after we found him. I didn't get much sleep for a few nights."

"Well then I suggest you get plenty of rest as well. And I'd like to point out that Lenny not only needs to rest but he also needs someone to keep him company. So maybe since you both have pretty much nothing to do but rest for a while, you might as well just rest with each other?"

Lino gave Rex half a smile. "Is that doctor's orders?"

"No," said Rex. "That's a friend's advice."

Lino's half smile changed to a full one. "Thanks, Rex."

"No problem," said Rex. "If there's anything else you need, just give me a call."

The two friends said their goodbyes and Rex turned to leave. Lino was about to go into Lenny's room when he saw Victor approaching him with suitcases in his fins.

"You going somewhere?" Lino asked.

"Yes, sir," Victor replied with a smile. "I figured it's time for me to head back home."

"You sure, Victor?"

Victor nodded. "It's been a blast, Lino, but Marlin needs somebody to actually work at the Wash. Besides now that my dad's history, I don't have to be afraid of him ever coming back. I owe you and Lenny a lot for that."

"You were a big help too," said Lino. "Thanks a lot, Victor."

"Oh it was nothing really. I'll come back and visit next weekend."

"We'll all look forward to it. And Victor, remember what I told you about hiding things from people."

"I will," Victor replied.

"Good boy." Lino hugged him one last time. "Have a safe trip home."

"Will do," said Victor. "Oh and one more thing. Tell Lenny he's really lucky."

"Why?" Lino asked.

Victor smiled. "To have you for a dad."

Lino felt some better. "Thanks, Victor. Take care of yourself."

They bid each other farewell and Victor left with his possessions. After which Lino opened Lenny's door and entered the room. Lenny was sitting up in his bed with his bedspread only covering him from the waist down. He seemed to either be waiting for Lino to come in or he simply didn't feel like sleeping… Let's settle for the first one, shall we?

Lenny still couldn't smile but at the sight of his dad his eyes lit up with joy. "Hi, Pop."

"Hey there, Kiddo," said Lino as he approached his son. "You hangin' in there?"

"I'm doing my best," Lenny replied. "So what'd Doc Rex say?"

Lino sat down beside Lenny and replied, "He said you're gonna have to take it easy and stay in bed for a while."

"No problem," Lenny moped.

"But he also said that you're lucky to still be alive and healthy."

Lenny closed his eyes. "I don't feel lucky or healthy, Pop. And I wish I _wasn't_ alive."

"Don't say that, Lenny."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it," said Lenny. "I just… I just wish all my pain and misery would leave me forever."

"I understand, Lenny," Lino assured. "But wanting to die isn't the answer. Your mother and I would be devastated if we lost you. Kids aren't supposed to die before their parents."

"Frankie did," Lenny pointed out.

Lino's heart sank. "I know, but he didn't die by choice. What happened to him wasn't fair, Lenny. And what happened to you wasn't any more fair. You're too young to die."

"Vince didn't think so."

"That's just it," said Lino, "Vince never thought about anything. And look where that got him. Not everyone in the world is like him, Son. You gotta remember that. You can't just mope around like this for the rest of your life."

Lenny said nothing.

"Come on," Lino said in a joking manner. "Gimme a smile."

"No, Pop," Lenny said sadly. "I'm sorry but I just can't."

Lino was prepared to beg. "Please?"

"No."

"For me?" Lino began fluttering his (nonexistent) eyelashes. The sight of which, although goofy, actually got Lenny to smile and eventually chuckle. "That's my boy," said Lino.

"You're so weird, Pop," said the no longer depressed Lenny.

"Yeah, where do you think you got it from?" Lino teased.

The two were quiet for a few minutes. Then Lenny's face went sad and gloomy once more.

"What's wrong, Son?" Lino asked. "Is something else bothering you?"

Lenny nodded. "It's Victor."

"What about him?"

"I feel really bad for him. The most evil person in the world was his dad. I can't imagine how he felt all those years."

Lino sighed. "I know what you mean, but I don't want you to worry about that. What's important now is that you're both safe. Vince isn't ever coming back. No one can hurt you anymore." Of course neither of them knew if that was true, but it made Lenny feel some better to receive words of comfort. "And you know what?" Lino continued. "Victor wouldn't want you to worry about how bad he's had it. He told me to tell you that you're lucky to have a dad that loves you and would never hurt you."

Lenny smiled. "I know that's true. Thanks for everything, Pop."

"Don't mention it," Lino replied. "Now get some sleep. I'll check up on you in a few hours."

As Lino got up from the bed to leave, Lenny reached out his fin and practically screamed, "Wait!"

Lino froze and looked down at Lenny looking shocked. "What?"

"Don't go," Lenny said quietly.

It was clear to Lino that Rex was right about Lenny needing company while he slept. As Rex had also pointed out, Lino did feel rather tired after not getting much sleep lately. He was too tired to swim all the way to his room and he was right next to a bed that was big enough for both him and Lenny. He decided to take Rex's advice by keeping Lenny company and getting much needed sleep at the same time.

"I won't go," he told Lenny in a gentle voice. "I'll stay as long as you need me."

"Thanks, Pop."

Lenny scooted over a bit to make room for his father in the bed. Lino hopped under the covers and sat up with his back against the wall behind him. After a moment's silence, father and son spent a minute or so nuzzling each other's faces. Then Lenny rested his tired head against Lino's shoulder and happily bid him sweet dreams. The younger shark fell asleep instantly, but the elder remained awake just a few minutes longer to gather his thoughts.

Lino took notice of how blissful Lenny looked as he slept. For the first time in days, the little guy was finally at peace. No more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, and best of all no more Vince. But of course Lino wasn't sure if it would be this way forever. For all he knew, there could have been other sharks out there who all had a reason for wanting to do harm to Lenny. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that Lenny was safe and sound, his depression had finally come to an end, and he was once again back home with his loving family.

Just before Lino dozed off, he gently whispered to his sleeping son, "Oh, Lenny, why a parent would want any other kid in the world is beyond me." It was obvious that Lenny didn't hear him say this, but every word of it was true. So true in fact that Lino couldn't help but shed a tear of happiness. He then closed his eyes ever so slowly and surrendered onto sleep.

Moments later, Kathleen returned with her demon sleeping pills to give to Lenny. "Lenny, sweetie, I brought you some sleeping…"

As soon as she entered Lenny's bedroom, she took one look at Lenny and Lino and decided maybe they didn't need the pills after all. They both looked so serene huddled up together and getting some well-deserved and much needed rest.

"Aw," Kathleen said quietly to herself. "If that isn't the cutest thing." She silently approached her boys, kissed them both on the cheek (Lino must've sensed her presence because he blushed slightly as she kissed him), and then went back out into the hallway.

"Sweet dreams, boys," she whispered before closing the bedroom door.

_The end. _

_Author's note: So??? What'd you guys think? Was it beautiful? Sad? Comic? Better than Working Vacation (I won't mind if you say yes to that one, I'm super proud of both stories)? Give me your answers. _


End file.
